Darkened World, Shattered Light, Digi Armour 01
by Theo 'Blitz' Leung
Summary: The world has fallen into complete control of Darkness. Death is plentiful, remorse is little, and there is no mercy. From the Darkness, a small group shines the beacon of Light. (Discontinued Until Further Notice)
1. Episode 01-The Shattered

The Shattered ****

The Shattered

By: Theodore 'Blitz' Leung

[Theoleung@sprint.ca][1]

****

Disclaimer: All Digimon and their characters (except for those introduced in this fic/series) do NOT belong to me. I do not have permission to use their characters, but it's a FanFic, so, who cares? =) This story line belongs to me and me alone. Please ask for permission if you wish to use it. Thanks. Now let's get onto reading!

****

Author's Note: This is a post Episode 50, Season 02 FanFic. However, when I say post, I don't mean a few years later, I mean a few _hundred _years later, exact amount unknown. Just to inform you.

The doors hissed open, much to the surprise of no one in particular.

"He's inside," one of the uniformed soldiers of the group spoke. The group of three exchanged glances, then the one person wearing an exoskeleton armour stepped into the room, the door hissing shut behind him.

The room was poorly illuminated, much to no ones surprise. Only two occupants were in the room, the visitor and the client.

"Pay," the person in the exoskeleton spoke, not demanding, but not passive either. The voice was muffled behind the mask of the armour.

"Fifty thousand," was the response from the man behind the shadows. "Twenty-five up front, twenty five upon completion." On cue, a small briefcase was placed on the table that separated the two. The armoured agent regarded the case, then opened it, examining the money.

"Job," the armoured person demanded next, closing the brief case and holding it firm in his right hand.

"Find her," was the order, a picture being tossed down towards the mercenary. The mercenary took the picture, taking note of the details.

"Fifty grand for a girl..." the armoured person thought, assessing the situation. "No older then me, that's for sure..."

"Consider it done," the mercenary told the client, taking the briefcase and picture, regarding the client behind the shadows, then leaving the room.

* * * * * *

He opened his eyes, watching the metal hatches close before him. There was the hissing of the seal, then locking mechanisms getting into place. The suit was padded, though the pilot never got used to how tight the Armour fit around him. The visor screen in front of him flicked to life, giving exterior view of the Armour.

"Wish they'd make these Armour's bigger," the pilot complained, looking left and right.

"Just consider it another layer of skin," a voice from the intercom spoke. The pilot turned his gaze onto his right shoulder, seeing his Digimon sitting on the shoulder. It was a humanoid like reptile, probably better described as a 'Lizard Man', clad in bronze vest. On the Digimon's head was a small headset with speaker, hence their communication.

"It _is _another layer of skin, Paramon," the pilot told his Digimon partner. "I am probably only a few inches taller then before..."

"If I remember correctly, the thickness of the plating on this Terra Armour is about 6..." Paramon analysed, looking down and around the Armour from his vantage point.

"6.27 to be exact," the pilot answered, glancing around the hanger. The rest of his squad was getting suited up. As usual, he was the first one up and running.

"You scare me sometimes, you know that?" Paramon responded, leaping down from the armour.

"I scare myself," the pilot responded, raising his right arm. The armament on that arm consisted of four chain guns, attached to a cylindrical device that the Armour held from within. All around the device were ammo packs, many ammo packs.

"And I'm never going to get used to that weapon system on this Armour," Paramon commented next, running over to the left arm. The Pilot lifted his left arm next, examining the weapons.

On the arm was a pair of quad barrelled rocket launchers, each with multiple missiles as well as 'special scenario' missiles built in. As expected, the Armour itself moved much more slowly then the average, but what it lacked in mobility it made up with armour plating and weapon systems. The armour was painted pure black, making it a difficult target to see at night...until it flares up the scene with guns blazing.

"Hey, Paranoia, we're moving out!" the commanding officer shouted through the com link. Paranoia looked from his arm towards the command Armour, nodded, then glanced back down at Paramon. The Digimon smiled lightly and gave a thumb up sign, watching his partner walk off.

* * * * * *

"Hey Jena, how's it going up there?" the voice spoke through the com link, surrounded in static, but not completely inaudible.

"Every thing is clear," Jena responded through her headset, scouting the area below her. She flew through the air on her lightweight Armour, specifically designed for advanced scouting mission. Even her Armour was equipped with stealth coating so she wouldn't be detected on radar. The Armour itself lacked in protection, but Jena didn't mind; she was a good pilot and could dodge a lot of things in this nimble Armour.

"Secto-," she started, but interrupted herself as the radar clicked in. "Armour, zoom into sector 22α." The Armour complied, chirping softly and mechanically. "Roger that, enemy Armour's at sector 22α. Five Armour's: four Gaia, one Terra."

"Affirmative," her commanding officer spoke. "Nothing we can't take care of. Prepare to attack."

"Roger that," Jena responded, hovering on the spot, stealth still on. Her view zoomed into the Terra Armour in the back, analysing the heavy weapons.

"Sleek black...four chain guns on the right arm, two rocket launchers on the left arm..." Jena assessed, her mind racing. "I've never run into that combination before..." she commented, biting her lower lip softly. "Well...there's a first time for everything..."

She floated a little higher, making sure her light assault rifle was in check, fully loaded, and that the ammo packs were properly attached. She lowered her right arm, placing the barrel of the rifle in the cupped left hand.

"Starheart here," she spoke through the com. "I'm going in!"

With those words, the topaz coloured aerial Armour began a steep dive into the middle of the cluster of Armour's.

* * * * * *

The small orange skinned dinosaur walked through the damp and dirty stone hallway into a room just completely by torches on the wall. Sitting at the centre of the small room was a teen of the age of 16. He was of muscular build wearing kevlar armour a black T-shirt, as well as wearing black jeans. Strapped onto his back was a pair of axes, lightweight, but both incredibly sharp. A small breeze flickered his dark hair, a breeze of unknown origin in the disgusting prep room. The boy looked up, his brown eyes regarding the dinosaur that came in.

"We're up, Siato," the dinosaur Digimon told his partner, beckoning the boy to come.

"That's pretty much all we do now, Agumon..." Siato commented, sighing lightly and getting up. His hand fell onto a breast pocket on his vest, taking out a small Ruby coloured Digivice. It was tiny and fit into his hand, with a very simplistic design, but the boy cherished it with his life.

"Do you think it will be any different?" Agumon asked, stepping over to his partner.

"Do I think it'll be different?" Siato repeated the question, looking down at the floor before him. "I sure hope so...but it always seems the same..."

"Times change..." Agumon tried to console, though it didn't really work. Siato, however, smiled lightly.

"Thanks for the effort," the boy spoke, standing up and unclipped one of the axes on his back. "Come on, let's go..." Siato told his partner, though his order poorly masked the hate he had for his job. The two walked off down the damp corridor to their destination.

* * * * * *

The small blonde hair girl shivered under her tattered and torn blanket. The item did little to shelter the girl from the bitter wind in the destroyed city. She sat in the corner of the alley, curled up tightly and holding a small white object in her hands, keeping the object close. The blonde hair was tied back by a brown ribbon with a small seashell on it, rare in this time and age. Her brown eyes looked own at the object she tenderly cared for. Her clothes were tattered remains of a gray shirt and blue pants. She was dirty and cold, but her heart was intent on the item in her hands.

A shadow loomed over head of her, telling her to look up. She recognised the silhouette of a Human begin, and a Digimon by the person's side. Nothing else could be made out with the black background compounded in dark orange light that made it difficult to see.

"Well, well, well...what do we have here?" the masculine voice asked, leaning down. The Digimon stepped in front of the man, revealing himself as a Betamon.

"Looks like a girl," the Betamon added, grinning viciously. "What's your name."

"N-N-Nina..." the blond hair girl responded, shaking lightly at the cold air and of fear from these two malicious figures. The man grinned, then forcefully picked the young girl up by the collar of her torn shirt. "W-W-What do you want...?" Nina asked, not really wanting the answer. Nina could see a grin on the shaded face, then examination of her body from the man.

"You know what it's like to be with a significant other?" the man asked maliciously, holding the girl up by one hand. His other hand reached for her body.

"SILVER FANG!"

The white object leaped forward from her hands, revealing a small tiger like Digimon with silver fur. Black stripes streaked down her back, the formation of stripes on her forehead creating a star. The Digimon bit into the man's hand, making him cry out in pain and dropping Nina. From the pocket of her pants fell a magenta coloured Digivice.

"B-Boss!" the Betamon exclaimed, taken by surprise, as then he was bitten as well with a Silver Fang attack. The man and his Digimon partner retreated in pain, cursing until their voices were out of audible range. The tiger Digimon then slumped onto the ground, tired and sick.

"Tigramon!" Nina exclaimed, taking the Digimon into her hands and keeping her close. The Human retrieved her Digivice, then headed back into the corner of the alleyway once more, curling up in the blanket and making sure her Digimon partner was alright.

* * * * * *

"You ready, Gabumon?" the female voice asked in the darkness. The darkness was only illuminated by a faint light creeping between two tightly closed doors. Through the light, one could see faint silhouette of two figures, one Humanoid, the other Digimon.

"We'll never be ready for this...we just make due," the Digimon replied.

"How true you are," the female responded, placing a hand into her jeans pocket. She memorised her attire: black T-shirt with Kevlar armour over top, and blue jeans, her right pocket holding a Digivice, sapphire in colour.

"We wait this one out, Sapphire?" Gabumon asked, looking up at his partner. He couldn't see her with his eyes, but he could sense her out.

"Might as well..." Sapphire responded, taking her hand out of her pocket and raising it over her right shoulder. She could feel the cold touch of her weapon strapped to her back, a long sword.

The doors before the two slowly began to creek open with deliberate screeching. The light revealed the sapphire eyes and light blue dyed hair of the female. The open area before them showed an arena of great proportions, with Humans and Digimon alike as spectators, all shouting for blood and gore that is always shed.

"The Colosseum is always bloody," Sapphire spoke, stepping out into the battlefield. "We just endure...we fight to survive..."

* * * * * *

The exoskeleton figure stepped out of the small base, coming upon his Armour at the outskirts. Beside the Gaia Armour was a Digimon, guarding it diligently.

"What we got?" the hedgehog Digimon asked. He was humanoid like with blue skin and black fins on his back.

"Retrieve," the armoured figure answered, taking a Digivice out of a compartment in his armour. The Digivice was clear in colour. "Human, alive and unharmed. Fifty-K." The hedgehog Digimon whistled.

"Details?" the Digimon asked, stepping away from the Armour.

"Young female, probably frail and most definitely can't defend herself," the exoskeleton answered, placing his Digivice into a small slot on the chest of the Armour. "Getting her isn't the problem, returning her in one piece will be problematic, but not impossible."

"Will she co-operate or do we have to knock her out?" the Digimon asked next.

"Unknown," the exoskeleton answered. The Digivice inside the armour beeped softly, then the Armour began to open up, the front of the legs folding out, the sides of the chest turning towards their respective sides, and the upper chest and head rising up. The Armour was not much bigger then the person clad in exoskeleton, but the Armour had to be specially modified so it could fit the exoskeleton as well as the Human within.

"I've never seen you take retrieve mission like this before, GS," the Digimon remarked, watching his partner step into the Gaia armour. The Armour was painted in army colours, and attached to the back was a high-powered sniper rifle.

"It's fifty-K, Amnemon," GS responded, closing his eyes and waiting for the Armour to close around him.

"Is fifty-K worth it for a girl that is hard to defend?" Amnemon asked, leaping onto the shoulder of the Armour.

"A job is a job," GS responded, the vents hissing and the locking mechanisms on the Armour shutting. "We live with it," was the new voice through the intercom once GS was in place inside the Armour. Two exchanged no more words, GS stepping into the wastes that now made the world.

* * * * * *

"Hey, hold on!" Paranoia shouted through the com system, halting everyone. "My heat sensors are going off...and it's coming from the sky..."

"The sky?" one of the other Armour's asked, his view going up. "I don't see anything."

"My radar isn't picking anything up," a second concurred. "Are you sure your heat sensor isn't malfunctioning."

"Hey man, me and Paramon keep these systems top notch for situations like these," Paranoia retorted, angered. He also knew for a fact his heat sensor had longer range then the standard radar on other Armour's.

"Sure, sure Ventra..." the commanding officer responded, looking up as well. "That's why they call you Paranoia." There was a soft chuckle from the other Armour's. Ventra sighed, checking his heat sensor again, then noting another three signatures coming their way from three directions. The one in the air began to come towards them.

"I don't care, but we got company!" Ventra shouted through the link, raising his right chain gun arm into the sky. The other four Armour's scoped out the forest area surrounding them.

"Now that I think about it, it must suck to be ambushed in a clearing with all these forests around us," a third pilot commented, raising his sub-machinegun and pointing it towards the forest. The radar flared to life with signatures that were coming, and were coming fast. Still, the one in the sky didn't register on the radar.

"Who ever it is, he's using stealth..." Ventra cursed, tracking his heat sensor. With nothing else to do, he opened fire. A torrent of shells ripped through the sky. There was hardly any muzzle flash, as Ventra and Paramon worked out a dampening cartridge for the gun without actually weakening it. The muzzle flash was still there, but it wasn't as bright as normal.

Nevertheless, Ventra had no time to admire his and his Digimon's handiwork, as he was too busy blazing through the sky. The rest of his Squad began to level the forest around them with machinegun and assault rifle fire.

* * * * * *

"Wha?!" Jena exclaimed, diving left and diverting from her intentional course. Her previous flight path was just riddled with chain gun fire, and a lot of it. The hail of fire continued to trail her, and it was then the pilot began to suspect heat sensors on that Terra Armour.

"Jena, we're pinned down here...if you got anything of a distraction, do it now!" her commanding officer ordered.

"Distraction...great..." Jena thought bitterly, still evading the hail of fire following her like a bloodhound. "I can get a Flash Grenade out, but you'll need to get that Terra Armour off my case before I can toss it."

"I'm on it!" another Armour pilot shouted out. Jena bit her bottom lip lightly again, dodging all the shots, but sooner or later, with that much fire coming at her, she'll get hit.

* * * * * *

Siato twirled the axe quickly and deliberately in his right hand, waiting for the pair of double steel doors to open. Agumon stood beside his partner, also waiting patiently. The two waited in silence, listening to the muffled screams and cries of the crowd outside. After some more waiting, the peak of the cheering came, and from their, both Human and Digimon concluded the battle within was over. The screaming and cheering then fell silent, the door before them cracking open. Artificial light blinded the two for a short moment before their eyes refocused. Around them were spectators of Human and Digimon alike. The two began to step into the open arena.

"We going to 'throw' the fight?" Agumon asked, not bothering to look up at his partner.

"Let's see what our opponent can do...and if they 'agree', we'll do it," Siato answered. He looked at the sky, and was replied by the light of dark orange. He heard rumours the light in the world never changes, and so far, with what little time he had in open areas, the rumour proved true. Then again, he and his Digimon lived in the labyrinth under the Colosseum for so long that time has lost its existence to them. Siato then gazed at the two AA Guns bordering the Colosseum to prevent any flyers from escaping the arena.

"And here's the final round for the night!" the announcer shouted through his mic. His voice registered loud and clear through the amplifiers around. "For this final battle, we have Siato Kamiya and his Agumon versus Sapphire Ishida and her Gabumon." Siato didn't notice his opposition until after her name was announced, and then Siato really did begin to wonder about this battle. Across the arena stood Sapphire with her Gabumon, and on her back was a long sword that Siato wasn't too intent on meeting, especially with the tip of that weapon through his stomach.

The two arena fighters regarded each other, then went for their Digivices, one of ruby colour, the other of sapphire colour. As did their partners, the Digimon also faced off, both with impassive face. Sapphire took her blade from her back into her hand, then pointed her Digivice towards her Digimon partner. Siato did the same.

"And let the battle begin!"

Both Digivices flared to life, empowering the respective partners.

Fin

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Completed: 06/15/01

   [1]: mailto:Theoleung@sprint.ca



	2. Episode 02-Blood

Blood ****

Blood

By: Theodore 'Blitz' Leung

[Theoleung@sprint.ca][1]

****

Disclaimer: All Digimon and their characters (except for those introduced in this fic/series) do NOT belong to me. I do not have permission to use their characters, but it's a FanFic, so, who cares? =) This story line belongs to me and me alone. Please ask for permission if you wish to use it. Thanks. Now let's get onto reading!

Ventra continued to spray the air, but he had no signs of hitting his target. The young teen cursed silently, but he only used a quarter of his ammo supply so far. He was far from ending the rampage against the dark orange sky. Then again, he knew this would be a difficult target, considering he was relying purely on his heat sensor and the fact that this specific enemy was in Aerial Armour, making it hard to hit.

"Come on...where are you?" Ventra whispered, continuing to spray. Even if he wasn't hitting, he knew he wasn't letting the Aerial Armour attack either.

A sharp 'ping' against his left armour distracted his concentration. The pilot looked towards the forest on his left flank, noting the Gaia Armour with a sniper rifle. The enemy pilot was preparing a second shot against the Terra Armour.

"Oh no you don't!" Ventra exclaimed, pointing his left arm in the direction of the Armour. He pulled the trigger, unleashing eight rockets from his pair of rocket launchers in the direction of the Armour. Ventra could see 'fear' from the Armour before the missiles impacted and detonated in a brilliant display of fire. After that, the Armour was no more. Ventra exhaled, turning his attention back to the Aerial Armour with stealth technology. His radar blared to life on the fourth, now third, Armour; revealing the not so invisible figure. The Armour had a soft pulsating blue orb in its left hand.

"Flash Grenade!" Ventra shouted through the link, preparing to cover his eyes/visual sensors from the explosion. Getting blinded and jammed would greatly compromise their position. Still, if his companions were to distracted to notice or hear him, there was little he could do. The Terra Armour pilot just held his ground and prayed.

* * * * * *

Digivices flared to life as both the Agumon and Gabumon were empowered with energy.

"Agumon..." "Gabumon..."

"Warp Digivolve to..."

"War Greymon!" "Metal Garrurmon!"

Already a cheer went up from the crowd of Digimon and Human's, seeing this as a great battle with two Mega level Digimon trying to kill each other. The two Digimon growled softly, menacingly, yet in a friendly manner. Both Human's regarded their Digimon partner for a moment, then their gaze met. Eyes told truth of determination to win, but hinted another purpose.

"Stall the battle," Sapphire told Metal Garrurmon. The Mega level nodded, then dashed forward, boosters at full power. The two Digimon crashed and tumbled towards Siato's entrance point, mashing at each other. Sapphire nodded, though she thought she could see the War Greymon doing the same thing.

Siato raised his axe and pointed it in the direction of Sapphire. The female Human did the same with her blade, the two facing off for a brief moment. They blinked at the same time, then both rushed forward, metal smashing against each other. The axe head and the blade impacted, though both Human's noted how much weaker was the attack was then expected.

"Why is he holding back?" Sapphire wondered, striking again, and the recoil was just as weak as their first attack. "I know I'm holding back...but why is he holding back...?"

"What _is _he trying to do?" Sapphire finally asked herself, driving her sword at her opponent known as Siato, but making sure it was slow enough to block. It was blocked, though Sapphire noted how Siato didn't counterattack with such an opening the lunge brought her. Now she really began to get curious.

* * * * * *

Nina opened her eyes slowly. Her slumber was awakened by the presence of another person in the vicinity of the alleyway. The person didn't do anything to her at all, but she just awoke to the presence of the person.

"Nine Windhope?" the masculine voice asked, kneeling down. Nina pulled her Tigramon closer to her body, looking up at the figure and nodding slowly. "I'd like to ask thtt you come with me," the figure continued. Nina couldn't see the person well, but she looked past him, noticing the three Armour's outside the alleyway. She then looked back at the figure, and by the silhouette of the person, she figured he was a military official, by the way he was groomed and all. No messy hair was the obvious sign.

"What do you want?" Nina asked softly, pulling the blanket closer to herself and her Digimon with her free hand. Nina could sense a 'smile' from the man's presence.

"I'd just be honoured if you could come with us," he responded politely, though Nina could tell a hint of sarcasm in his voice.

"And why would it be such an honour?" Nina inquired, playing the same game with the soldier back.

"You'll find out if you come with us," the soldier answered calmly, keeping with his game.

"And what if I don't?" Nina asked, trying to keep her cool.

"Well, then I'll have to kidnap you," the soldier told her, albeit with little stagger.

"So why ask if you're going to take me in the first place?" Nina spoke next, though a hint of fear betrayed her. She pulled the blanket even closer to herself now.

"Because I'd like to take you without hurting you," was the response. The soldier advanced, seeing a shift in power.

"And if I still refuse?" Nina continued, still trying to play the game, but her emotions was tainting her play.

"Well, then I'd have little choice in the matter," Nina conceded, shrivelling up in her little corner in the alleyway. She could 'feel' a malicious grin from the soldier, as he put a hand into his shirt to take something unknown to the young girl.

"SILVER FANG!"

Tigramon leaped up from her spot behind the blanket, ready to chew on the arm of the soldier. She heard the entire conversation, and, even in her condition, won't let her partner down without a fight.

The soldier stepped back then pulled a small dart gun from his shirt, pulling the trigger. The dart hit the chest of Tigramon, knocking her down with a fast acting tranquilliser.

"Tigramon!" Nina exclaimed, taking her Digimon and cuddling her. She only did that for a second as another dart hit the young female, knocking her out in a few seconds. The soldier grinned, taking the Digimon and the girl and heading back to his Armour.

* * * * * *

GS halted behind the building, peering over at the three Armour's in the distance. Two of them were manned, the third was open. The three were facing an alleyway.

"What the hell is a WUF scout squad doing here?" GS whispered, watching the Armour's with magnified vision from his own Gaia Armour.

"Well, we are in a city bordering WUF and UDF," Amnemon told his partner, peering with a set of binoculars.

"Still...this is a pretty isolated city..." GS assessed. "Wait..." he spoke, silencing all conversation between the two. The third pilot appeared from the alleyway, carrying a small Human and a Digimon.

"Well, that'd explain the fifty-k bounty on that girl," GS told his partner, zooming out. "WUF got her, and UDF won't pay us if we don't get her back..."

"Take a shot at those three Armour's then?" Amnemon suggested, lowering his binoculars.

"Can't..." GS replied, zooming in again at the trio of Armour. "I might hurt the girl...if they start to fire back."

"And yeah...we have to get her unharmed..." Amnemon concluded. "But if they want her alive too, won't they try to protect her as well?"

"And use her as a human shield?" GS retorted. "I'm not risking fifty-k for something trivial like that. Besides, the closest WUF outpost is a two-day walk from her on Gaia Armour. They'll have to camp out twice before they can get there. We got time..."

"I sure hope you're right..." Amnemon muttered, watching the trio again as they headed off. The Digimon suspected an ulterior motive from his partner, but decided not to pursue the subject.

* * * * * *

"Shooting, now!" the pilot exclaimed through the link, taking a sniper rifle shot at the rampaging Terra Armour. Jena looked own, noticing fire wasn't directed at her anymore from the Armour. She began a dive down, dropping her stealth and beginning to charge energy for a Flash Grenade. She noticed the Terra Armour raising its left arm towards the sniper's direction.

"Hey, watch out!" Jena screamed out, but it was too late. In the next moment, the Gaia Armour became no more then a pile of rubble in a massive crater created by eight missiles.

"Oh...damn you..." Jena muttered, her Flash Grenade fully charged. She noticed the Terra Armour trying to take cover from the grenade, but it's size and bulk made it impossible to manoeuvre under such circumstances.

"You're all dead..." Jena grunted, tossing the Flash Grenade and continuing the dive down. The orb exploded in a shockwave spreading out. Visuals and sensors went static from all the opposing Armour's as well as Jena's Armour, but she didn't care, she would avenge. The agile Aerial Armour landed on the ground, Jena closing her eyes so the static wouldn't distract her. She fired five rounds into one direction, then another five into the exact opposite. She then opened her eyes, the effects of the Flash Grenade wearing off. Vision cleared, she admired her handy work of taking down two Gaia Armour's, albeit disappointed she didn't scratch the Terra Armour at all.

"Miscalculation..." Jena spoke softly, noting the other two Gaia Armour's were down, probably from her comrade's shooting. Only the enemy Terra Armour remained. Jena reactivated her stealth, taking to the air once more as the Terra Armour began to open fire against her again.

* * * * * *

Siato blocked the next attack with the side of his axe head, though he continued to hold back as much as possible while giving the appearance of 'fighting'. He noted the same with his opponent known as Sapphire. The female with dyed blue hair then came in with a nasty right hook. Siato faked his fall, noting the punch was faked as well. The two continued the guise of fighting, though they really weren't fighting at all.

Siato indirectly pointed towards the AA Gun at the distance with a nudging head, hoping to get her attention. She glanced quickly, then slashed again, adding a 'nod' to the end of her attack. Both partners glanced towards their partner, exchanged glances, then they knew they were thinking on the right track. The two Humans charged, and swung their weapons in a wide one-hundred-and-eighty-degree arc, cueing their Digimon. The two Digimon pulled a bit closer to their respective partner, preparing to attack.

"TERRA FORCE!" "ICE WOLF CLAW!"

War Greymon lobbed the orb of pure heat energy forward, while Metal Garrurmon blasted forward an icy shower of cold energy. The crowd fell silent, expecting a massive backlash of energy when the two attacks collided.

The ice and fire grew closer and closer, the crowd watching more intently as they came closer, and closer...and closer...

* * * * * *

Ventra finally got visual and sensory control back on his Armour, quickly assessing the situations. He heard the painful cries of his comrades over the com, and then he began to fear for the worse.

Blood boiled in the Terra Armour pilot's veins, seeing his squad mates down, probably dead. He looked up, the Aerial Armour flicker from existence, then to his right, where the other two Gaia Armour were.

"DIE!" Ventra shouted, letting all anger overcome his rational thinking. He fired a heat seeking missile at the stealth Aerial Armour, knocking the Armour couldn't hide from a heat seeker. Ventra then turned to face the other two Gaia Armour's, both reloading from their clips upon firing on his comrades.

"DIE!" Ventra screamed out again, unleashing all his chain guns and firing another eight round spread of missiles. Bullets ricocheted off the two Armour's, juggling the two around and around and around before the eight missiles hit, four for each Armour. The explosion compounded by the damage from the multitude of bullet rounds left nothing to spare except for bullet casing on the ground beside the Terra Armour.

An explosion on the sky caught Ventra's attention. He looked up, noting the now visible Aerial Armour, its light assault rifle smoking, probably from firing to destroy the missile chasing it.

"You're next!" Ventra roared out, still letting anger overcome his mind. He began to unload his chain guns into the Aerial Armour, intending to finish what he started at the beginning.

* * * * * *

The Terra Force and Ice Wolf Claw attacks just blazed right past each other, skimming slightly, but definitely not making the explosion the crowd was expecting. The attacks continued to fly, brushing past the Digimon towards areas unknown. Siato and Sapphire exchanged glances, nodded to each other, then sheathed their respected weapons, dashing towards their Digimon.

The attacks just rolled along, and it finally became apparent to the guards and spectators where the attacks were going. It was too late to stop them, however.

The Ice Wolf Claw smashed into one of the AA Guns guarding the arena, freezing it completely and making it inoperable for the duration of the freeze. Likewise, The Terra Force hit the AA Gun on the opposite side of the arena. This time, there was no freeze, just a detonation as falling debris landed on the spectators around.

"GO!" Sapphire shouted out, leaping onto the back of Metal Garrurmon. She glanced over at her opponent now comrade, and saw he was on his own Digimon. The two Mega level Digimon blasted off from the arena, much to the disappointment of the crowd. Guards took pot shots at the escaping fighters, but their shots were well off the mark.

"Yeah!!" Siato screamed out, looking back down. The victory was even sweeter with the crowd going into a riot over such circumstances of the fight. It was quite clear the arena officials wouldn't be able to start a capture mission until they calmed the crowd at the Colosseum, and by the looks of it, that will take a while to do. Siato Kamiya glanced over at his partner in escape then gave a thumbs-up. Sapphire Ishida smiled as a response, the two flying away from that death pit.

* * * * * *

Jena glanced back, her radar going wild with the pursuit of a heat-seeking missile. The pilot of the Aerial Armour cursed under her breath, noting another twenty rounds left in her weapon.

"Come on..." Jena remarked, knowing any attempt at firing a weapon will kill her stealth. Then again, not killing that missile trailing her will kill her. The pilot finally decided, dropping the stealth and turning around quickly, unleashing the remainder of the clip into the missile. The last three shots of the clip detonated it with resounding 'BOOM'. Multiple other 'BOOM's before that moment plus screams of pain overtook her com before she detonated the missile. Her gaze went down, reactivating the stealth and loading another ammo pack into the rifle. The remnants of her team were now scattered metallic bits and pieces from explosions of that rocket launcher on the Terra Armour's left arm.

"Oh man...you're going down you f***..." Jena started, not finishing the sentence as she continued to evade the chain guns firing upon her. She dived low and skimmed the ground, taking one aim.

Her stealth deactivated as she blasted a six round burst into the kneecaps of the Terra Armour. Three shots hit home, disabling the servos on the knee. The Terra Armour fell, but not before one of the chain gun rounds hit her jetpack. She twirled out of control for a brief moment before regaining control and heading out, glancing back. The Terra Armour was on its knees, using its quad chain guns as support. The Terra Armour raised its left arm, and fired another eight round spread at her, the missiles locking on.

"Oh DAMN!" Jena screamed out, her speed much slower now with a damaged pack. She quickly reactivated her stealth, then blasted into the sky, the missiles losing their lock on the Armour and flying just underneath her feet, hitting against the forest and detonating. Jena exhaled, flying away, this battle finally over, with much loses on both sides.

"I'm going to hate this report..." Jena muttered, looking away from the battle site.

Fin

****

Completed: 06/18/01

   [1]: mailto:Theoleung@sprint.ca



	3. Episode 03-Fated Meeting

Fated Meeting ****

Fated Meeting

By: Theodore 'Blitz' Leung

[Theoleung@sprint.ca][1]

****

Disclaimer: All Digimon and their characters (except for those introduced in this fic/series) do NOT belong to me. I do not have permission to use their characters, but it's a FanFic, so, who cares? =) This story line belongs to me and me alone. Please ask for permission if you wish to use it. Thanks. Now let's get onto reading!

GS zoomed his view into the base camp the three WUF Armour's set up in the forest. He noted one sentry while a second was cooking. The third was in the tent, probably watching over the girl.

"Plan?" Amnemon asked, watching the small camp as well with his binoculars. GS didn't answer yet, still analysing the situation. The mercenary was finding the best way to defuse the situation with as little harm to the target as possible.

"Can you buy me a distraction in tent?" GS asked his Digimon partner, though the Digimon need not respond; it was clear the Digimon would do as his partner asked.

"You should know that response, partner," Amnemon responded, grinning lightly and leaping off the Armour. "I'll be waiting behind the tent, and don't worry, they won't see me. I can figure the signal is when Armour's start falling."

"I'm that predictable," GS muttered, looking down at his partner. The Digimon grinned again, rushing off behind the camp while avoiding detection. Of course, with the dense forest and the dark orange light, it would be no problem for the hedgehog-like Digimon.

"Alright...let's see..." GS spoke softly, continuing to watch and waiting for the right opportunity for attack.

* * * * * *

Jena slowly landed on the ground, deactivating her stealth well before when she was in sensor range of the outpost near the border. She directed her Armour into the direction of the hanger, her hands clenched tightly into a fist.

"Hey Jena!" a female voice squawked out from the hanger. Jena's anger dissipated quickly, recognising the familiar voice of her Digimon.

"Kisheartmon!" Jena shouted out, unclenching her fist quickly. The avian Digimon flapped down from her perch on the upper railing. Her wings were crimson, unlike the pure white body she had. The Digimon smiled, happy to see the return of her partner, though a bit concerned to the damage done to the Armour. Then she noticed the fact none of the squad mates have returned either. The avian Digimon was about to ask, but the answer came before the question.

"They're dead..." Jena told Kisheartmon bitterly, heading deeper into the hanger for repairs.

"W-W-Wha!?" Kisheartmon exclaimed, expecting capture or something like that, but death didn't ever occur to the Digimon. "What happened out there?!"

"One really well equipped Terra Armour," Jena muttered bitterly, stopping at one of the repair stations and letting the open crack open. She stepped up, revealing a girl with short brown hair and green eyes that looked no more older then fourteen. The female wore a crimson jump suit, almost never taking it off since she was almost always on the field. Stepping away from the Armour, the mechanical fighting suit closed again, ejecting a small device from a slot at the front of the Armour. The pilot took the item, revealing a small topaz coloured Digivice. The pilot pocketed the item in her breast pocket of the jump suit, then headed away towards the living quarters of the outpost.

"Yikes..." Kisheartmon responded, knowing that Jena's squad was one of the more skilled, if not most skilled, squads on the base. "Oh...and before I forget, the commander wants a talk with you..."

"_Now_ what does he want?" Jena whispered, closing her eyes and letting instincts guide her deeper into the base. "Work with the crew, see if you can increase the aerodynamics of my Armour...I can still feel a push against my Armour up there."

"Will do!" Kisheartmon responded, trying to be cheerful, a little hard to do after the news that Digimon heard.

* * * * * *

Ventra eyes blinked open, his com bursting to life with initially static, then a voice.

"Asgard, how are you?!" the voice shouted out on the link. The Terra Armour pilot looked up, watching a transport helicopter coming in his direction. His distress call was answered.

"I've been better," Ventra 'Paranoia' Asgard responded, releasing the locks on his Armour to let him out. He stepped out, showing off a fourteen-year-old pilot with black hair and blue eyes. He wore a pair of military issue pants and a vest, both pieces of clothing weighed down with specific items he liked to carry around 'just in case', hence his nickname of Paranoia. Underneath the vest was a white T-shirt.

"So, where's the rest of the squad? Captured? Or you just ran like the chicken you are?" the pilot of the chopper asked, preparing a landing nearby.

"Dead," Ventra answered, kicking his Terra Armour in frustration. The pilot chuckled dryly for a moment.

"You're kidding, right?" the pilot asked, the chopper landing firmly and the hatch opening. Two large mechanical arms reached out from the open hatch, specifically designed to hoist immobile Armour's.

"Does it sound like I'm kidding!?" Ventra shouted angrily, storming into the helicopter and taking a seat. "Just get us home. I need to make a status report."

"Yes sir!" the pilot shouted out, much more serious now. Once the Armour was secure on the chopper, the door closed and the pilot pulled up. 

* * * * * *

Sapphire and Siato finally met face to face, without interruption and without a blood crazy crowd cheering for them. The two shook hands firmly, both thankful for the other's assistance in escaping that hell.

"Siato Kamiya," the boy introduced, not as imitating with those pair of axes on his back as it was in the arena. "And that's Agumon," he spoke, pointing towards his dinosaur like Digimon.

"Sapphire Ishida," the female spoke, her weapon strapped to her back. "And Gabumon," she introduced her Digimon, the one with a small white fur like cloak.

"Pleasure to meet you," both Digimon spoke at the same time, smiling at the coincidence.

"And it's a very _nice _pleasure to get out of that hell hole," Sapphire commented, stretching her arms out.

"Agreed," Siato responded, also stretching. "Admittedly, no offence, I wasn't expecting any female fighters, yet alone one that would understand my plan."

"When we're on the same wavelength, gender doesn't matter," Sapphire answered, not offended at all. She was used to these kinds of responses.

"How true..." Siato commented, glancing around. It's been a few hours already and the orange like light that made the sky didn't seem like it will drop anytime soon.

"What's wrong?" Agumon asked his partner, tugging on the pants of the boy.

"The sky..." Siato whispered, continuing the watch the bleak sky. It wasn't appealing at all.

"I've heard it only changes at night when darkness covers all," Sapphire informed the boy her age. The two sixteen-year-olds exchanged looks, then their gaze headed back towards the sky.

"I wonder why...?" Siato spoke softly, though he knew his answer was far from coming, if it was coming at all.

* * * * * *

GS placed his back against the tree, closing his eyes. In his Armour's hands was the sniper rifle he carried with him. The target was in sight, and he still wasn't detected.

"Three...two...one..." GS muttered, turning from the tree as his temporary cover and taking aim at the Armour on guard.

The Armour went for his weapon as soon as he detected the signal at the outskirts of his radar and pointed his weapon in that direction. That was as far as he got: in the next moment, a shell penetrated the head of the Armour, freezing all action. The barrel of GS' rifle was smoking, but the pilot didn't stop, quickly heading into the small base camp as the Armour toppled over. The cook glanced up quickly, shocked with the turn, then dove for his Armour, hoping to engage it before getting destroyed.

"Wrong answer," GS spoke sharply aiming his rifle with one hand, one eye through scope while running towards the camp. One well placed shot disabled the cook, leaving a hole through the cook's body and out the other end of the Armour.

The rustling and the screaming from the tent quickly caught the mercenary's attention.

"Well, that definitely kept the third one occupied," GS thought, watching the tent continuously.

"SONIC DISC!"

Three emerald energy boomerangs ripped through the tent and towards random directions, one narrowly missing GS' Armour. The pilot finally got out of the tent and ran for cover, not getting far from the abode. The pilot lay in a bloody mess on the ground a few seconds later, one nice hole through his head. Quite a feat for a reaction shot,

"Target secured," Amnemon reported, crawling out of the tent. "But was a distraction really needed?"

"Didn't want the one in the tent sending out a distress signal," GS spoke emotionlessly, stepping towards the tent. "How's the target?"

"Sleeping still, as is her Digimon," GS' Digimon partner answered. "I guess the little sleeping concoction they mixed up is still in effect for both of them."

"That's one hell of a tranquilliser to sleep through those rifle shots," GS commented, unlocking his Armour.

"And I wondered why you didn't put the silencer on that rifle of yours," the Digimon inquired.

"You needed a signal," GS responded softly, letting the Armour close and taking his clear-coloured Digivice from it. He stepped into the tent to check up on the target himself.

* * * * * *

"You paged, sir?" Jena spoke, saluting crisply when she entered the command room. All around her were computers and large screens, battle plans and strategies drawn all over the screens.

"Yes, Lieutenant Starheart," the commander spoke, turning his gaze away from the current battle plan and towards the soldier. "Please, take a seat."

"I'd prefer to stand, sir," Jena told her superior, trying to keep her cool after the results of her last battle.

"Very well," was the calm answer from the commander, gazing towards another battle plan on the wall. There was silence between the two military figures before Jena opened her mouth.

"With all due respect, sir, I'd like to know why I was called here," Jena spoke sharply, obviously growing impatient with the delays.

"Of course, of course," was the response. Once again, Jena shut her mouth, waiting patiently on her commanding officers judgement. "I hear your squad was annihilated," the officer added much past the silence. Jena winced at the remarked, and wondered if her superior saw this action.

"Yes..." Jena responded meekly and slowly, looking away from the officer. What hot headed temper she had before was quickly extinguished. "News travels fast..." she added bitterly.

"Yes, it does," her commanding officer agreed, turning towards her now. "That's war. Maybe I can give you an opportunity to find that Armour pilot."

"Wha?!" Jena remarked, unable to understand what her boss meant.

"We need someone to infiltrate the small town WUF controls on the other side of this border," he briefed. "Reconnaissance is necessary if we wish to take this base."

"So...the rumours are true...we are planing to take a World Unity Force base..." Jena spoke softly, though still audible to her commanding officer.

"Rumours are rumours until someone speaks truth to them," he told her, sharpening her instincts and putting her mood in something more serious. "We also suspect the squad who defeated your squad is stationed there."

"It's not really a squad anymore..." Jena interrupted, remembering the handy work she and her former squad mates did to that.

"Either way, it's incentive..." the commanding officer mused, baiting the Aerial Armour pilot. Jena didn't think long.

"When do I leave?"

* * * * * *

"How does it look?" Ventra asked his Digimon partner, walking over to his Armour with a brief talk with his commanding officer. The officer wasn't very pleased, but recommended Ventra to take a day off to help ease the pain.

"Whoever was in that Aerial Armour was either very lucky of very good," Paramon commented, finally repairing the damaged servo for the leg. "That shot hit the one weak point on any Armour's leg, and it hit it hard. I'm guessing explosive tip ammo."

"The pilot was good," Ventra spoke, sitting down and leaning back against his Armour. "That pilot dodged all my shots...and was able to shoot down my missile...it was all skill."

"Odd...I've never known you to be bested by those frail Aerial Armours," Paramon commented, leaping towards his companion. "Even the most skilled Aerial Armour pilots here can't beat you in simulation."

"Those pilots wouldn't know how to dodge even if the shots weren't hitting them," Ventra muttered, closing his eyes. "Damnit!" he screamed, slamming his fist into the Armour's plating. "I don't believe I lost my squad to that pilot..."

"Yo...yo...calm down..." Paramon spoke, taking the hand of his friend. "Keep up that mentality and those Aerial Armour pilots here _will _start beating you."

"Heh...guess you're right..." Ventra commented, sighing, though calming down. "Have to admit...it was a pretty good ambush, despite how unorganised UDF squads usually are."

"United Defence Force squads might be disorganised most of the time, but not all of them are affected by this syndrome," Paramon told his partner. "You must've been hit by a veteran squad."

"If so, that squad isn't a squad anymore," Ventra spoke, taking satisfaction in those words. "There is only that Aerial Armour left in the squad. Guess it was an even trade..."

"Nothing can trade in for lives..." the Digimon forced out.

"True...but this is war..." Ventra countered, looking up at the hanger ceiling. "Lives will be lost...no matter what we do..."

"Yes...war..." Paramon agreed, leaning back against the Armour and looking up as well. "It just gives more recruits for the Horde..."

"And the Horde have become more ferocious and organised lately," Ventra spoke. "According to rumour that is," he added quickly.

"To rumour...better hope the Horde doesn't come here..." the Digimon concluded, silencing both. The two continued to watch the ceiling, waiting for something to happen.

Fin

****

Completed: 07/06/01

   [1]: mailto:Theoleung@sprint.ca



	4. Episode 04-Indirect Pain

Indirect Pain ****

Indirect Pain

By: Theodore 'Blitz' Leung

Theoleung@sprint.ca

****

Disclaimer: All Digimon and their characters (except for those introduced in this fic/series) do NOT belong to me. I do not have permission to use their characters, but it's a FanFic, so, who cares? =) This story line belongs to me and me alone. Please ask for permission if you wish to use it. Thanks. Now let's get onto reading!

Kisheartmon met her partner in the depths of the base, more specifically the mess hall of the base. The Aerial Armour pilot sat alone, not accompanied by her squad mates as usual. Her hands were placing the on the table, in between them was a cup, probably of tea, the only thing she drank, at least that was what it seemed for Kisheartmon.

"Hey!" the female avian Digimon shouted out to her partner, raising a crimson wing. Jena glanced up, smiling lightly and motioning for her Digimon partner to join her. By the time Kisheartmon reached the table, Jena's smile turned into a frown.

"What's wrong?" the Digimon asked her partner and friend, taking a firm seat on the chair beside Jena. "What did the commander say?" Kisheartmon asked next, getting more to the point. Jena took a sip from her tea before facing her Digimon partner.

"How's the Armour?" Jena asked her partner, eluding to answer the Digimon's previous question. Kisheartmon realised that, but didn't want to upset her partner any further then she seemed to be.

"I think I increased your maximum top speed a bit," Kisheartmon reported. "The damage has been repaired, and weapons are all full. The Armour is all good to go." Jena took another sip from her drink, then nodded in approval.

"You know that WUF base near this base on the border?" the Aerial Armour pilot asked her partner, finishing the remainder of her tea with one last gulp. Kisheartmon nodded slowly, unsure where this question was going to take them.

"Rumour speculates we're going to take the base," Kisheartmon responded after the nod, keeping her voice low. The officers here didn't like rumours that much, but they still got around. The Digimon was just playing it safe to keep 'rumours' away from the ears of those who can exaggerate their worth.

"It's no a rumour anymore," Jena told her partner, also keeping her voice low. Kisheartmon stared at her partner with disbelief, wondering even if this base has the manpower to attack. She always took the rumour as an impossible feat for the tiny recon base here.

"And the commander...said this...?" Kisheartmon asked, staggering to find the words. The female Armour Pilot nodded slowly, bouncing the now empty cup in her between her hands.

"First, we need reconnaissance to determine the enemy's strength," Jena told her Digimon. "I guess you can figure who got the mission." Kisheartmon nodded.

"When do we leave?" the Digimon asked. Jena grinned lightly, glad her partner volunteered to help out for this mission.

"If we got nothing to pack, immediately."

* * * * * *

Amnemon played with the grass with his hands, waiting patiently for something to happen. His partner, GS, sat beside him, back in his Armour. The sniper was slowly and mechanically ejecting the clip of the gun, and then replacing it into the weapon once again. In the tent lay the target and her Digimon, both still unconscious.

"Why don't we just move them?" Amnemon asked his partner, not bothering to look up. "It's better then waiting around doing nothing. The faster we get this job done, the faster we get paid."

"It's a nice thought," GS responded, glancing back towards the tent. "But if we get hit by a WUF squad while heading back, we're going to have to leave her somewhere, and that somewhere might still get her killed. At least, when she's awake, she can retreat to a safer location while we fight it out."

"Or she could escape while we're distracted," the hedgehog Digimon retorted.

"She won't run," GS replied coldly, continuing his action with the clip. Amnemon would normally ask why his partner was so sure, but there was something about that girl that kept GS' interest. Amnemon decided to shut up, letting the actions unfold the events.

GS decided to stand up now and unlock his Armour. He decided he stayed too long in the Armour, despite the fact he wore another type of armour as well. The servos and such from the Armour opened with a hiss, letting out steam. The mercenary stepped out of his Armour and sealed it back up, taking the Digivice from it.

"And now...we wait again..." GS told his Digimon partner. The two fell silent once more.

* * * * * *

The two fighters lay on the stomachs, looking down at the group below from their vantage point high above on the hill. Their Digimon partner sat a few feet below, waiting patiently for any instructions.

"It looks like they aren't inclined on losing some fighters," Siato commented, watching the Armour's walk back and forth, most likely looking for them in the area.

"It's not good publicity for them to lose two of their more popular fighters, especially those that never met and were still able to escape a supposed inescapable prison," Sapphire answered softly, watching the Armours as well. "Question is if they want us alive, or wants us dead..."

"Well...we'll just try to keep on escaping if we're taken back...so they'll probably just want us six feet under," Siato reasoned, rolling onto and sliding down the hill a bit so he could talk with the Digimon better.

"But they're too lightly armed to be an annihilation squad..." Sapphire spoke, also rolling down. "Either they want us to surrender, or they are really underestimating us."

"Either way, that is towards our advantage," Agumon assessed, glancing between the two fighters. "We have an element of surprise, and they are not that well equipped. We should take advantage of the situation."

"I agree," Gabumon spoke, facing the Agumon beside him. "If we attack now, we may be able to incapacitate them before they have a chance to call for reinforcements. That will give us a few more hours of uninterrupted travel." The two Humans exchanged glances, both taking the idea as the best course of action. Each of them retrieved their Digivice.

* * * * * *

A soft moan from the tent quickly gained the attention of the mercenary and his Digimon partner. It was all they pair needed to know that their prey was awake, or, awakening. They headed over to the tent, flipping open the tent cover.

Inside, the young and petite girl curled up, if not complete awake before, now is. She held her Tigramon closely, the both of them staring at the pair glaring in.

"W-W-Who are you?" she asked, pulling back.

"You're saviour," GS replied sarcastically. "We're moving out, whether you like to or not."

"B-B-But..." she stammered.

"Listen, missy, you shouldn't argue with him...he always gets his way in the end," Amnemon told their objective.

"My name isn't missy," their target replied, gaining a bit more confidence. "It's Nina...Nina Windhope..."

"Whatever," GS replied harshly, tempted to drag Nina out. Nevertheless, he halted, unsure what kind of after effect the sleeping potion could cause to this young girl.

"I'll go..." Nina answered, crawling out of the tent. "But I want your name...at least try to make this trip easier for us..."

"...yeah...sure..." GS responded, not really paying attention. He began to walk away.

"Sorry, Nina, he's like that," Amnemon apologised for his partner. "My name is Amnemon, and he's GS." The young girl nodded, thankful for the small bit of help.

"This is Tigramon," Nina introduced to Amnemon, pulling her Digimon partner a bit out for the hedgehog Digimon to see. Tigramon coughed slightly, nodding.

"It's nice to meet you..." she told him weakly.

"Is something wrong?" GS' partner asked the cat Digimon, noting the signs of weakness and frailty.

"It's nothing," Tigramon answered quickly, with renewed energy. Amnemon leaped back at the sudden snap, then decided not to pursue the subject anymore.

"Hey, are you coming?!" GS shouted out, waiting patiently by his open Armour for the others to join him. Nina and Amnemon didn't protest, quickly rushed over.

"GS, what an unusual name," Nina commented to the mercenary. GS glared at his partner, who in return only shrugged. "Don't look at him like that. I asked." The mercenary sighed, shook his head, and was about to mount his Armour. "I don't think I would ever get accustomed to calling you GS...and I don't think that is real name..."

"It's not. So what?" GS asked, pausing his mount.

"Can I name you?" Nina asked. The question came as a peculiar request for the mercenary, causing him to pause even more.

"If you can find me a good name, sure," GS answered, a bit more kindly now. Amnemon found it strange for the mood swing from his partner.

"Hmm...a good name...what's a good name..." Nina pondered aloud, biting her lower lip lightly. "How about...Satsuki...Satsuki Crescent?"

The name seemed nice to GS, but it hit something in his mind. He gazed down at Nina, that name repeating in his mind like a throbbing headache.

_"Satsuki..."_

Nina slowly stepped back, with no fear in her eyes, but she passed her Digimon to Amnemon, who took the sick Digimon. For some strange reason, that action prompted the two Digimon to retreat.

_"Satsuki..."_

Tubes of various colour liquids flowing all around, a thick mist hung in the air, blocking sight..

"Crescent..."

A cluster of familiar people surrounded, their features blocked only by the mist that hung in the air, a mist that rotted with...

"Satsuki...Crescent..."

A bloodied hand, the hand trembling, either from fear or from shock of the deed.

GS took a step towards Nina, his thoughts impossible to read through the armour he always wore. Once more, Nina retreated a step, but, even if fear was apparent, something else was telling her to stand her ground.

_The air stunk of death, blood slowly spread across the ground, in pools from flesh that was fresh..._

In the next moment, GS slammed his suit fist into the stomach of Nina. She let out a cry of pain, but there was no surprise in her tone. Both Digimon were ready to pounce on GS for the action, but a quick, sharp look from Nina halted both of them. There was something in her short smile that stopped them, and then they decided to hold back once more.

_The thick mist hung with the stench of death...through it, untouched metal gleamed for the eye..._

The next attack came with a right hook from GS. His fist connected with Nina's face, forcing another short cry. Her cry was muffled when GS' left hand reached out and grabbed her head, followed by his knee connecting with her stomach. Nina's eyes went wide with pain, but she forced the cry back that time.

_Metal gleamed brighter. Slowly and deliberately, the mist cleared, revealing a strange mechanical suit of armour..._

GS tossed Nina away like a rag doll, but still approached the wounded, fallen girl. The wounded girl moaned in pain, shakily holding her body up with her arms. The mercenary loomed over her, before her kicking her harshly in the ribs. Nina cried out again, rolling over and around.

"Nina!" Tigramon screamed out, but collapsing afterwards. Amnemon was by her side, watching GS meticulously tear up the one person they were retrieved to get.

"What's with you...?" the hedgehog Digimon thought, never seeing his partner go berserk before.

_Silver metal shot out from the hand part of the armour...gleaming...and then just as quickly...coated with blood._

GS regarded the fallen child with a deliberate intent to kill her, even if you couldn't see his facial features through the mask.

With a sharp sound, a tri-pronged claw blasted out from the outer hand of GS' suit, the orange light gleaming off the sharp edges, murderous to the end. Nina crawled backwards, watching the claws that slowly advanced towards her.

The mercenary swiped with the claw, Nina leaping back as much as she could in pure instinct. The blades pierced the tatter clothes she wore, but didn't pierce flesh, much to the disappointment of the claw, or perhaps it was deliberate, slowly torturing the mind before going in for the kill.

_Explosion...smoke...orange light...metal clanking to the ground after the brilliant display, shrapnel flying all over._

GS slashed again with the claw, this time Nina rolling away. However, metal connected with frail flesh, the blades slashing the back of the young girl. She cried out once more for the ears of GS, falling to the ground.

"Nina!" both Amnemon and Tigramon screamed out, the two ready to jump in and stop this madness. The hedgehog Digimon's mind raced to find a solution for GS' behaviour.

_"Satsuki..."_

Nina slowly turned around, groaning in pain as she faced the mercenary masked behind his armour.

_"Crescent..."_

His eyes met hers, pausing the claw that was now only a few inches away from her neck.

_"Satsuki..."_

Eyes gazed at each other. Behind the visage of death in GS' eyes, those eyes shall the same from that girl, and for a brief moment, two eyes of the same nature met.

_"Satsuki...Crescent..."_

"AAAAAAAAHHH!!" GS screamed out, the repeated saying of that name in his head breaking his mind. The claws on the armour retracted as the mercenary grabbed his head, trying to calm the throbbing. The two Digimon watched in shock with the sudden change, but Nina remained calm, waiting.

After a few moments, GS slumped to the ground, curling up into a ball.

* * * * * *

The four admired their handy work. Before them lay a mangled heap of Armour's, none destroyed or beyond critical damage, just all disabled.

"Good job..." Siato told his Digimon, now back to the Rookie form. "Good thing for Mega level Digimon, no way we can bust these tin cans with our weapons..."

"Do you think they sent out a distress signal?" Sapphire asked her humanoid escapee partner, facing Siato.

"By the way they were all attacking us, probably not," Gabumon assessed. "They seemed more inclined to smash and perforate us then anything else."

"Which is good, we get a few more hours," Agumon added quickly, taking onto the optimistic side of things.

"Then we better not waste these hours..." Siato thought aloud. "The more distance...the better..."

* * * * * *

Nina, with some miraculous feat of strength despite her weakened state, lifted the fallen GS and placed his head onto her lap. She winced in pain from the three cuts the mercenary gave her, but she continued to watch the armoured figure. Amnemon and Tigramon slowly advanced, both wondering what Nina was doing.

The helmet hissed as steam was let out, burning the female slightly, but it was nothing compared to the slash she received. Amnemon gazed in surprise, watching the young female separate the helmet section from the rest of the suit. Not even he knew how to do that, let alone this girl they never met before.

The revealed face was Chinese like, with shoulder length blonde hair. Nina opened the closed eyes of GS, revealing a pair of crimson eyes. She shook her head, letting them close again, then turning to the two Digimon. Tigramon, albeit weak, still watched with much anxiety.

"Amnemon...do you have any water?" Nina asked the hedgehog Digimon while tearing a piece of her already tattered garments off. GS' partner Digimon nodded, rushing to the Armour and opening a small hatch in it, revealing a canteen of water. He rushed back to Nina, where he was joined by Tigramon. The young girl took the canteen and poured some on the torn shirt piece, bundling it and placing it on GS' forehead. His body grew less stiff then before, let his body relax with the cold moisture.

"Nina...your wound..." Tigramon whispered, looking at the bleeding on her back.

"It's alright..." Nina spoke softly and calmly, wiping the sweat from GS' forehead. "It'll heal over time..." Her Digimon partner was about to protest, but decided against that, seeing the focus Nina dedicated to GS. She leaned down to clean the sides of his face.

"Satsuki...Crescent..." she whispered into his ear, getting a faint shudder from the body that reacted to the name. She continued to clean and care for the unconscious GS, better known to her as Satsuki Crescent.

Fin

****

Completed: 09/07/01


	5. Episode 05-Meeting Unknown

**Meeting Unknown**

**By: Theodore 'Blitz'Leung**

theoleung@sprint.ca

**Disclaimer:** All Digimon and their characters (except for those introduced in this fic/series) do NOT belong to me. I do not have permission to use their characters, but it's a FanFic, so, who cares? =) This story line belongs to me and me alone. Please ask for permission if you wish to use it. Thanks. Now let's get onto reading!

GS groaned lightly, slowly awakening from his unconscious state he entered so long ago. He could feel the soft and light touch of someone around his neck, though he couldn't identify it at first.

In all essence, he liked it. He never felt anything so caring before in such a long time…he couldn't even recall when the last time he felt something like that. Inadvertently, he smiled at the thought.

"Oh my…" he heard a familiar voice speak quickly and with surprise. "He's SMILING!" The mercenary's smile grew a bit wider, leaning back a bit against whoever was holding him.

"It makes it sound like you've never seen me smile before, Amnemon," GS responded to his Digimon partner, opening his eyes. His gaze met those of Nina Windhope and surrounding Digimon partners. The mercenary blinked a few times, placing an armoured hand lightly against Nina's cheek. She winced slightly, still in a bit of pain from the damage the mercenary did to her only so long ago.

The touch of comfort slowly left GS, the feeling more becoming an intruder to him then that of remorse. Slowly, his smile turned to an emotionless stare. His previous cool, cold, and calculated state returned to him.

He quickly pulled away from Nina and stood up, picking up his helmet with him. His gaze returned to his target, wondering what he just felt from her, but decided not to pursue the subject. As it is, he wasn't even sure why he blacked out in the first place.

"Satsuki…?" Nina asked, standing up, albeit her legs trembled with the lack of energy in her body. She nearly fell over if it wasn't for GS quickly catching her fallen body.

"Wha?" the mercenary thought, wondering why he caught the young girl as she fell. Quickly, he righted Nina back up, allowing her to settle back down and regain feeling in her legs.

"Thank you…Satsuki…" Nina told the mercenary, her breathing a bit harsh. GS didn't make any move, even after that name was mentioned to him, twice. He wasn't sure why he didn't protest to the name…it was familiar to him, in something unexplained, and it didn't make him angry at all, especially with this one certain female mentioning.

He shook the thought out of his mind, quickly replacing the helmet over his head and sealing it back up. He hated it when others saw his face, even for a few moments like that. A quick check of his armour was made, seeing that all systems were a green.

The mercenary's gaze was back on Nina, seeing her regain her energy. GS decided not to attempt travel yet of his target, not in the condition she was in. Any major travels in that condition could result in lose of income on his part…

* * * * * *

Ventra raised the gattling gun arm of the Armour, unloading a full salvo of bullets into the direction of the Aerial Armour. The first bullet hit home, as did the majority of bullets afterwards. Of course, if Ventra was using his recoil dampener, once the first hit, the remainder would hit until he was out of ammo, or until his target was nothing more then bits and pieces.

Nevertheless, the Aerial Armour fell, due to its lack of armour. Ventra huffed, lowering the arm and waiting for his next opponent. The pilot of the Aerial Armour left the simulator disappointedly, wondering how he could've been chewed up so easily.

"Stupid pilots…you can never compare to the one that destroyed my mates…not even close…" Ventra muttered between his breaths, gripping the controls to the simulator tightly. It was quite clear where his anger was directed. Even Paramon's suggestion to try to vent some of it against other soldiers in the base didn't seem to work.

The next Armour was chosen, Aerial Armour, light assault rifle…standard armament for that type, and Ventra was getting bored of fighting new recruits like that. He opened fire instantly, ready to teach this newcomer a thing or two about combat.

* * * * * *

Jena crept into the mess hall of the military base, surprised to get so far into the base undetected. She landed her Aerial Armour in the nearby forest outside of the base, relying on her Stealth to keep her undetected. From there, she sneaked inside, Kisheartmon right behind her all the way. She found it rather surprising to sneak into the base, let alone in such short time.

"What are you thinking?" the bird Digimon asked her partner, wondering why they paused at the door of the mess hall. Jena shook her head, not answering the question and headed in confidently. She figured she could fit into the group with little trouble.

Her attention was taken by a rather loud cursing near one of the corners of the room. She quickly identified the two linked simulators, and seeing one pilot leaving rather hastily. The Aerial Armour pilot figured the pilot just leaving lost, and lost horribly to the other person in the simulator. Another pilot took the place of the loser, and Jena decided to take her chances too, stepping towards the simulator to test her luck, and better said, to integrate herself within the community of other pilots that did not share the same goals as she.

* * * * * *

GS and company arrived at the closest and designated base they were supposed to be at much earlier then the mercenary expected. They made great time despite his 'uncontrolled behaviour', as Amnemon dubbed it, and as well as a few injured members of the group that slowed them down a little, much to the cause of GS in the first place.

"She's injured…" the client told GS, gazing towards the monitor that showed Nina before them. She waited patiently in the lobby of the base, Tigramon sleeping in her lap. She seemed too peaceful despite the environment of the military base around her.

"Circumstances made if difficult," GS lied, but his stance remained firm and solid, his voice didn't stagger at all.

"I see.." the client mused, his back turned to GS, though that was only a guess through the shadows of the poorly illuminated room. Their was a brief silence between the two before another briefcase was placed on the table, similar to the one GS received before while receiving this mission. The mercenary stepped to the table the opened the case, examining its contents. He nodded in satisfaction, then left the room to the privacy of his client.

* * * * * *

Nina looked up quickly at the emerging figure of GS, completely masked behind the large exoskeleton armour he wore. She smiled affectionately and innocently, glad to see GS again, despite what happened last time. She ran her hand through the fur on Tigramon's back slowly.

"You found your new home," GS told her, causing her smile to fade quickly.

"But I wanted to be with you…" she protested, albeit meekly. She knew this was coming, especially with what the mercenary told her earlier, but she didn't believe it, and still didn't.

"My job is done with you," GS spoke emotionlessly, though his mind thought otherwise. "We may never see each other again." Nina's eyes grew wide with that.

"But I want to be with you, Satsuki…" she repeated herself again, pleading this time. GS once more regarded the younger girl, shaking his head slowly. He began to move again, leaving the base and Nina for what seemed for good.

"Satsuki…" Nina whispered, already missing the mercenary, for reasons unknown to everyone but her…

* * * * * *

Ventra relaxed his grip over the controls for a brief moment, destroying yet another Armour with little trouble. He sighed softly, not even close to venting all his frustration and anger, but it was a start. The simulation was slowly elevating the pain in his heart.

The next armour materialized before him; another Aerial Armour with an assault rifle, expected. The Terra Armour pilot sighed in disappointment, seeing another quick victory as he open fired with his gun arm.

Ventra then gasped in surprise as the Aerial Armour dodged the bullets with relative ease. His surprise faded quickly though, the pilot growing much more serious much quicker with that one fact, seeing a challenge before him. His grip over his controls became firm, not slacked like the prior encounters. He intended to win this fight.

The Terra Armour pilot continued to spew hail into the sky, trailing behind the Aerial Armour while trying to second guess the pilot's thoughts. If Ventra could predict where the Armour would go next, it would all be over in seconds, but the Aerial Armour moved in such sporadic ways that it seemed impossible to track.

"It just makes it all the more interesting…" Ventra thought, grinning at the challenge. He decided to halt his mad frenzy of shooting and see what this Aerial Armour had in store for him. If all else, he still had the small rocket pack mounted on his shoulder for extra firepower.

The Aerial Armour hovered in the air for a little bit, possibly a bit confused with the halt in attack, but then decided to take the opportunity to attack, albeit, a bit cautiously.

Ventra decided to see what else the Aerial Armour pilot could do, firing one of the four rockets he held in his pack. He expected a dodge from the Armour's part, was quite surprised when, instead, the Armour shot down the rocket directed at it with about half to clip of the assault rifle.

"Whoever the pilot is…" Ventra thought, acknowledging the opposing pilot's skill. The remainder of the bullets from the assault rifle ricocheted off the plating of his Armour, doing minor damage. Ventra opened fire again with his chain gun in response.

The Aerial Armour barrel rolled out of the way and accelerated up, up, and up towards the sky, making it an extremely hard target to hit, and even if the bullets did hit in that distance, they would have already lost enough velocity to make their damage insignificant. With that in mind, Ventra halted his attack again, admiring his opponent's cleverness.

"If only I was using my real Armour, this would all be over…" Ventra thought, not angered anymore, but amused with the challenge brought before him. It was a while since he had a chance to really fight seriously in a simulator.

"Come on…bring it…" Ventra 'Paranoia' Asgard whispered, preparing for his next attack, or defence, what ever the case may be.

* * * * * *

GS manoeuvred his Gaia Armour to his next destination, Amnemon riding on his shoulder. His goal was to meet his next client, someone from WUF, but his mindset was somewhere else.

_"Satsuki," Nina whispered, smiling from ear to ear as she mentioned the name._

GS shook the thought from his mind, wondering why he kept on remembering her. That mission was done, he would probably not see her again…and yet…he couldn't stop thinking about that small girl.

"GS, what's wrong?" the hedgehog Digimon asked, knocking lightly on the helmet of the Armour. GS didn't answer, only remained silent to his Digimon's question. Despite that, the Digimon had a clue what bothered GS, and it had something to do with a certain young girl in their last job. "It's Nina, isn't it?" GS still didn't answer, but it was quite clear what lingered in his mind. "What is it between you are her?" the hedgehog Digimon asked next.

"Would you stop asking!?" GS exclaimed, getting fed up with the annoying questions from his companion. Amnemon nearly fell off the Armour's shoulder with that shout, silencing himself quickly.

The two continued on in silence towards the WUF base with their client waiting for them.

* * * * * *

Jena exhaled, holding her breath for God knows how long. Her screen went blank. She slowly released the grip around her controls, never before seeing such challenge, aside from one other occasion.

"But…I didn't lose this one…" she thought, smiling as she began to unlock the simulator. "Well, neither did my opponent…it was a draw…" It was a battle well fought, no matter what.

The Aerial Armour pilot stepped out of the simulator, as did her opponent. Jena giggled at the look of surprise from her opponent's face when he saw the Aerial Armour pilot was female.

"I take it you have never seen a female battle so well, have you?" Jena asked, outstretching a hand. The other pilot took it with respect for his opposition. "Jena, Jena Starheart."

"Ventra Asgard," the other pilot responded, the two releasing their grip. "But I'm nicknamed Paranoia. It's a pleasure to meet someone with your skill at Aerial Armour."

"The pleasure is all mine," Jena responded, smiling lightly. Ventra nodded, then eyed the crowd that watched the two exchange greetings.

"I guess our little battle caught the attention of many," Ventra observed, turning his attention back to the other pilot. "But I believe this is the first time I've seen you at this base…"

"Let's just say I'm a mercenary," she lied, trying not to blow her cover. It was already risky enough to come in the open like that without proper authorization.

"Merc…eh?" Ventra mused, examining her. "Pretty cute for a mercenary." Jena blushed at the comment that came right out of the blue. Thankfully for her, there was a interruption to their conversation.

"Ventra!" Paramon shouted out, peeling out of the crowd and towards his partner. Kisheartmon did the same, only flying overhead and perching down beside Jena. The two Digimon exchanged glances, smiling.

"Strange how our partners are the same people," Paramon commented, looking up at Ventra.

"Yeah, no wonder we couldn't agree on who would win that simulator battle," Kisheartmon added, also looking up at her partner.

"I take it you two already met…" both pilots spoke, before introducing their partner to their opponent; now comrade.

* * * * * *

GS held the photos of his target between his fingers, four photos in total. He scanned their faces, Human and Digimon alike. He took one hard look at them.

"Your pay will be 30 thousand, if you accept," the commander told the mercenary. "Nothing in advance, you either get them, or you don't get paid." GS continued to eye the photos, analyzing them. "So?"

"They were gladiators, weren't they?" GS questioned, though by the appearance of them in the photos, it was quite obvious.

"You have a good eye," the commander admired, collecting the photos that GS discarded onto the table. "If you accept the job, we will provide a little serum to help subdue them."

"I don't need your 'help'," GS answered, turning his back.

"Those two Digimon can Digivolve to a Mega level," the commander spoke, halting GS in his tracks. The mercenary analyzed the situation further, turning back around to see what this 'assistance' is.

In the hand of the client, a vial was gripped between his fingers. It was a steel vial, so GS couldn't see the contents inside. Next, the commander rolled two darts onto the table.

"The contents of this vial have the ability to de-Digivolve any Digimon back to its Rookie stage, as well as prevent Digivolving definitely," the commander informed the mercenary. "The darts are calibrated to fit into your rifle, but there is only enough serum for two darts." GS shrugged, taking the darts and serum and stepping out once more. "Don't miss!" Those two words stopped GS momentarily. He glanced back.

"I don't miss," he responded, continuing the walk out.

**Completed:** 10/06/01


	6. Episode 06-Level Up

**Level Up**

**By: Theodore 'Blitz' Leung**

Theoleung@sprint.ca

**Disclaimer:** All Digimon and their characters (except for those introduced in this fic/series) do NOT belong to me. I do not have permission to use their characters, but it's a FanFic, so, who cares? =) This story line belongs to me and me alone. Please ask for permission if you wish to use it. Thanks. Now let's get onto reading!

"You always wearing a jump suit like that?" Ventra asked Jena, the two walking down the corridor side-by-side. Their Digimon trailed behind, exchanging conversation as they followed their partner. Jena nodded, keeping her senses attuned to any sort of danger.

"I'm always on my Aerial Armour...for the most part…usually don't have time to change out unless I'm taking a shower…" she answered, wondering why she was admitting so much about herself as it is. He was the enemy, and yet…here she was…telling about her life story to him.

"Life of a mercenary?" Ventra inquired, never stepping out into that domain before. He was curious, but the again, he was very curious about the mercenary who equalled his own skill in combat. "I would like it…but then…it would be harder for me to maintain my Armour."

"Yes, and I bet our battle would have been much different it we were using our own Armour's," Jena spoke, remembering her Aerial Armour back in the forest, and prayed silently no WUF patrol or personal would find it. "Speaking of which…the way you talk about your Armour, you seem to customize it…and customize it quite a bit…by the sounds of it."

"A good pilot would use as much of his Armour's potential as possible," Ventra told her in a matter-of-fact tone. Jena nodded her agreement.

"A good philosophy to remember," she spoke, the two passing one of the three hanger bays that made the small base up. She halted abruptly, her gaze falling onto an all too familiar Terra Armour. "Oh my God…it's the Armour…" she thought, staring at the ebony death that destroyed her comrades. There is stood in the hanger, carrying four gattling guns and a pair of rocket launchers…

"That's my Armour you're looking at," Ventra remarked, stepping beside her. "She's still under repair a bit…after getting a bit thrashed by an Aerial Armour not so long ago…"

"My Aerial Armour…" Jena thought, continuing to stare in disbelief at all the coincidences that could happen. She clutched her fist tightly, wishing why this had to happen to her. "First my squad…then an equal of mine…why me?"

"Jena?" Ventra asked, placing a hand on her shoulder. She gasped in surprise, looking up at the Terra Armour pilot that destroyed her squad. "Are you alright? You looked like you saw a ghost…"

"I…I…I'm alright…" she stammered, trying to regain her composure. Ventra nodded, glancing back at his Armour and sighing.

"I swear…once I find the bastard who survived and did my squad in…I'm going to enjoy ripping that person apart…" he whispered, barely audible to the female pilot, but she heard, nevertheless.

A sharp pang stabbed into her back, forcing her senses to alert. She was standing beside the person who destroyed her squad…and the person who's squad was destroyed by her…both sharing death threats to each other…and still be on good terms.

"E-Excuse me…" Jena spoke quickly, departing the company of the murdered and avenger that she was just with. Kisheartmon was surprised by the reaction quickly following behind her partner after apologizing to the other pair.

"What was that about…?" Paramon asked, blinking a few times. Ventra had no idea, remaining silent towards his partner.

* * * * * *

She blinked once, trying to find her bearings in the world of black that surrounded her form. She whimpered in fear, feeling the cold tingles of the darkness against her skin. Struggle as she might, her hands and legs were bound to the cold metal surface behind her, but she couldn't tell…the cold from the metal was the same as the cold from the darkness about.

"Ah…my pretty…you are awake…" a voice echoed in the dark, scaring her. Once more, the female whimpered, testing the binds again, and breaking it to no avail.

"W-what do you want?" the prisoner asked shakily, unable to hold back her own fear. She closed her eyes, but that only led to more darkness to haunt her. Her eyes quickly snapped back open, unable to calm herself at all in this prison.

"Just you…" the voice answered, plainly at first. "Your body…your mind…your soul…what makes you…" the voice grew softer and more evil with each item listed off, making the female captive tremble even more with each passing remark.

"W-Why…?" she asked, barely able to muster the courage needed to ask that lone question.

"You have something very important that I want…" was the reply, just as evilly, even sadistically. "And I will have it…" Once more, the female whimpered, trying to curl up closer to herself in protection to no avail. The soft hissing of machinery awakened her senses, her eyes darting around to determine the source.

She screamed out in pain as sharp steel impaled against her body, forcing gushes of blood to emerge from her captive body… 

* * * * * *

Sapphire quickly bolted up right, breathing hard, gasping for air, her hand falling over her chest, then to her stomach. She felt nothing, no scar, not even blood. She sighed, closing her eyes and leaning back against the rock walls they took shelter in. Her arms instinctively wrapped around her body, shivering from the small breeze that came into the cave.

"It was just a nightmare…that's all…" the former gladiator thought, silently hefting her weapon from the ground and stepping towards the entrance of the cave. Her steps were so light Siato didn't realize Sapphire was behind him until she was latterly right behind him.

"S-Sapphire!" the other former gladiator gasped in surprise, but kept his voice down so that he would not awaken their Digimon partner. "What are you doing awake?"

"I came here to replace you as a sentry," she whispered, gripping her weapon tightly. Siato shook his head, though it was hard to see through the darkness that ensnared them.

"It's alright…you already were a sentry earlier in the night…I'll take it till morning," the male responded, trying to give Sapphire some time to rest. He softly pushed the female back into the depths of the cave, but she protested silently, remaining firm on her ground. The other sighed, making room on the rock he sat on so that Sapphire may be seated as well. She took the offer graciously.

"You should get some rest," Sapphire told her counterpart, positioning her weapon into the ground.

"So should you," was the response from Siato, keeping an eye on the distance as best as possible, lowering his twin axes against the rocks that made the entrance of the shelter. Sapphire giggled at the thought, knowing she was being hypocritical. However, the guise of laughter was replaced with something much more serious. Siato identified it almost instantly. "What's wrong?"

Sapphire opened her mouth to respond, but decided against it, quickly closing it and remaining silent for a few moments. "It's nothing…" she answered after a bit. Siato regarded his companion for a moment, deciding not to pursue that subject, but another.

"You should get some rest," he repeated what his companion said, trying to get her to relax. She shook her head, smiling at the challenge.

"So should you."

* * * * * *

Ventra quickly suited up into his Armour, the alert passing through the base quickly of an imminent attack. Sensors and scouts reported UDF Armour's approaching the area quickly. He didn't like getting up in the morning like that, but he would enjoy thrashing some of those UDF Armour's, especially if that certain Armour he saw from his previous encounter returned for another round.

"Paramon, status!" he ordered through his communication device, doing a quick pre-combat test before heading towards the entrance of the hanger.

"Armour's are being mobilized!" his Digimon reported, albeit with a bit of static. "Units have already engaged the enemy, but more keep on coming. No serious causalities as of yet."

"Good," the pilot answered, seeing the flares of fire and the hail of bullets that spewed across the base he was assigned to. He smirked, quickly turning the corner of hanger door and opening fire against the contingent of Armour's who dared try to attack his base. Paramon watched from inside the hanger, safe from the hail of fire and return fire as he continued to monitor Ventra's progress. The lizard Digimon, however, got a strange idea that he would be needed in this battle…somehow…

* * * * * *

Jena stood at the entrance of the hanger, gripping the door frame tightly with her hands as she watched Armour's move out to engage her allies in combat. Kisheartmon was by her side, also watching the fray unfold before them.

"They're attacking without reconnaissance…" Jena spoke softly, though something else distracted her thought from her mission. The ebony death that slaughtered her squad was there, fighting with the cover of the hanger by his side. From that point, he continued to slaughter her allies, unleashing a storm of bullets and a hail of missiles and rockets alike. The Aerial Armour pilot felt so confused now…

"What are they doing attacking now?" the bird Digimon asked her partner, but there was no response. Jena's gaze was too intent on the Terra Armour that destroyed her mates before, and destroyed her mates now…and yet…she didn't feel complete hatred for that boy who piloted the armour…instead…she was confused…bitterly confused…

* * * * * *

GS spied the pair of Humans by the cave entrance near the mountain side. The 'sun' was slowly raising, returning the faint orange glow to the sky that didn't seem to feel like sun, but how should he know? He never felt what real sun was like, let alone anyone else in his generation. The scope was focused on the male and female pair, their weapons on the ground or against the wall, but even if they did have them, they were melee weapons: no way to hit the sniper.

"But where are your Digimon partners?" the mercenary asked quietly, trying to scan deeper into the cave to no avail. GS didn't care though, sooner or later, the targets would need to start moving again, and when they do, he would take care of the pair of Digimon that travelled with them.

"The waiting game?" Amnemon asked, hiding beside the Armour as they scouted out their prey. When GS didn't answer, the hedgehog Digimon knew the answer. He decided to make himself comfortable, knowing how long his partner can remain stationary to catch the targets…

* * * * * *

Ventra leaned back against the hanger wall of the base, feeling bullets bounce off the armour plating that made the structure. He exhaled, keeping his back to the wall while waiting for an opening to strike once more. He saw many of his comrades fall already, and he knew himself he destroyed plenty of those who attacked, but the battle raged on and on…

"There's no end to this…" the Terra Armour pilot muttered, quickly rounding the corner once more and about to open fire with his weapons.

Or he would've, until a rocket slammed right into his Armour body. The pilot cried out in pain and panic as he toppled over from the blow, taken completely by surprise.

"Ventra!" the pilot heard his Digimon partner scream into the com, the young teen trying to regain his bearings after the blow. His eyes focused back to reality, seeing another missile coming towards him full speed. He quickly raised his cannon arm, using the quad gattling gun arm as a shield from the attack.

The explosion sent his Armour flying backwards even more, leaving a deep trail in the ground below him. Ventra shook the dizziness from his head, ejecting his now useless cannons onto the ground and slowly getting back to his feet, or try to before the next rocket came.

Another rocket came in his direction, this time forcing evasive actions on Ventra's part. He quickly leaped left, using the now unbalanced weighting of his Armour to help carry him. With the lessened weight now, he made quite a jump. In the air, he aimed quickly with the pair of missile launchers and fired at his target, opening up with a pair of target specific homing missiles. The two rockets directed at him impacted at where he was laying before, the explosion sending him flying even farther to the left then he thought, rolling him once before he landed flat on his face.

"Ugh…" the pilot muttered, but getting satisfaction on hearing the explosions in the distance that marked his ordinance hitting home. Even so, the pilot didn't enjoy being a sitting duck out in the open, so he decided for a tactical retreat with cover fire from his companions.

Setting his pair missile launchers on full spread, he quickly rolled back onto this front and pointed his weapon blindly into the direction of fire, unloading every single rocket and missile in his weapon. Shafts of explosive weapons ripped through the sky and towards the line of attackers. The first missile detonated when the last missile was launched. Quickly, Ventra ejected his missile launchers, making a mad dash back into the hanger for some cover, and hopefully to re-arm.

The ground in front of him detonated in a hail of fire as he was knocked back down. Ventra once more shook the dizziness from his head, noticing his backup was shot, probably destroyed or disabled. He was surprised his salvo of rockets didn't keep the enemy down any longer then that, but then thought that this one rocket was fired while he fired his own.

"Damn…" Ventra muttered, getting knocked onto his back, stunned. He didn't exactly enjoying being like that without any weapons at all. The pilot was about to manoeuvre to get up, but was promptly shoved back onto the ground with a steel foot of another Armour against he chest.

"Ugh!" he groaned, looking up at the Gaia Armour above him, pinning him down with an assault rifle in its arms. "I guess I missed a spot…" Ventra joked seriously.

"Damn you…Terra Armour…" the Gaia Armour pilot hissed through his intercom, keeping the assault rifle trained on the defenceless Terra Armour. "You're going to pay for blasting all my buddies…"

"And you're going to pay for blasting all of mine…" Ventra retorted, but knew he was in now position to be threatening anyone, especially with an assault rifle to his head.

"You first…" was the response from his opponent, about to press the trigger of his rifle.

"HEAT ROLL!"

Searing heat in the form of a large fireball slammed right into the back of the Gaia Armour, forcing it off balance and tumbling forward. It landed on the ground with a thud, as the fireball that made the attack leaped back and uncurled, revealing the lizard form that made Paramon who he was.

"Paramon!" Ventra exclaimed in surprise, not seeing his partner getting involved in such combat before. The lizard Digimon nodded slowly, huffing.

"Damn Digimon!" the Gaia Armour cried out, kicking Paramon with the full force of its leg, despite being on the ground. He didn't fall that far away from Ventra.

"AAH!" the Digimon cried out, flying backwards and slamming right into the side of the hanger. The force of the blow left a large dent in the side as Paramon slowly slid down, dazed.

"Paramon!" Ventra shouted out again, anger over taking him. He quickly turned his focus towards the Gaia Armour, and did something unprecedented to any other Terra Armour pilot.

The pilot leaped onto the opposing Gaia Armour, much to the surprise of the Armour as he was about to finish Paramon off from a shot of his rifle. The bullet went wide and ricocheted off the hanger wall as the two Armours rolled across the ground.

"Damn you!" Ventra screamed out, getting on top of the Gaia Armour and slamming a fist into the face of it. He heard a cry of pain from his opponent, ready to jam another fist into the armoured mask if weren't for a strong kick from the Gaia Armour's part, sending Ventra up and then back down with a thud. In the next moment, the Gaia Armour towered over Ventra, assault rifle primed and ready.

"Christ…" the pilot muttered, levelling the weapon towards Ventra. "Even you should know a Terra Armour isn't made for melee combat…crazy bastard…"

"Shut up…" Ventra hissed between his teeth, not moving from his position on the ground. His gaze fell onto Paramon, who was now standing again and watching the final moments of his partner.

"VENTRA!!" the Digimon screamed out, overtaken by energy from unknown sources, his form slowly beginning to change. In response to all this, Ventra's Digivice, even inside the Armour, began to glow, blinding his opponent temporally.

"Paramon…Digivolve to…"

Limbs and appendages grew in size as the bronze armour around Paramon melted away. In turn, the previous lizardman like appearance of Paramon was replaced with a dragon whelp like shape that was only so much taller then the original form. Bronze anklets and wristbands replaced the armour he used to wear.

"Pardramon!"

"What the hell?!" the Gaia Armour pilot exclaimed, turning his attention away from Ventra completely and to the new Digimon that stood before them. Not asking any more questions, he aimed towards the dragon whelp Digimon before him.

"INFERNO ROLL!"

Much like its predecessor, Pardramon curled up into a ball, flames engulfing his body in a spherical formation. The sphere was much larger then his previous self, and the speed was just as fast, if not faster, then the prior. Before the Gaia Armour could fire, Pardramon was already upon him, crashing full force with his enflamed body and sending the two toppling. They rolled briefly before the Digimon whelp pinned the Armour on the ground.

"FAIA BLAST!"

The dragon whelp let out a large point blank blast of fire. The torrent of flames did nothing to the lizard Digimon of his own elements, but for the Gaia Armour, it lit up the inside like an oven. In a matter of seconds, the Gaia Armour fell limp, the pilot inside either passing out or boiled to death in his own protection. Pardramon huffed, leaping off the Armour and glancing back at Ventra.

The Terra Armour pilot only stared in disbelief, unable to articulate anything, let alone question what just happened in the last two minutes of battle between Digimon and Human…

**

**

**Completed:** 11/20/01


	7. Episode 07-War Zone

**

War Zone

**

**

By: Theodore 'Blitz' Leung

**

theoleung@sprint.ca

**Disclaimer:** All Digimon and their characters (except for those introduced in this fic/series) do NOT belong to me. I do not have permission to use their characters, but it's a FanFic, so, who cares? =) This story line belongs to me and me alone. Please ask for permission if you wish to use it. Thanks. Now let's get onto reading!

Jena pressed her back against the wall, taking her face away from the doors as she just witnessed Ventra's almost fatal battle while defending his base. She glanced back in, seeing Ventra, now on his feet, with the battered and emptied Armour in the hanger. Pardramon helped set the damaged Armour down, hard to move with damaged servos to the legs as well as arms. Ventra was glad he got out of that mess in one piece. He fell to the ground, leaning against his damaged Armour, eyes closed.

"You going to be okay?" Pardramon asked his partner, looking down at him now. Ventra nodded slowly, before his com blared to life once more.

"Perimeter going down…perimeter going down…Aerial Armour assault can not be stopped!" a panicked voice yelled through the calm. "Fall back and regroup!"

"Great, so I take care of my side, and the other side is going down," Ventra groaned, slowly standing up. "I got to reload, but that is going to take a bit of time…"

"I can go and help," Pardramon offered, though was interrupted with another voice.

"No, I'll go," Jena spoke up, revealing her location to the pair. Her fist was clenched tightly, behind her back, astounded that she herself would volunteer for such a mission, against her own people, her own comrades…

"But!" Ventra protested, but was silenced when Jena headed towards one of the Aerial Armours in the hanger. "Those aren't even your Armours, are you sure you can handle them?"

"I will…I can handle any Aerial Armour I fly," Jena responded softly, glancing at Ventra. She remembered the vendetta Ventra held against a certain Aerial Armour that may possibly be attacking this base. "And that Aerial Armour that destroyed your friends…she won't be there…"

"But, wait!" Ventra exclaimed, though it was muffled out when Jena entered an Armour and closed the hatch for it. Ventra's com buzzed to life.

"That Aerial Armour won't be there," Jena repeated, plugging into the frequency for the base. The pilot headed towards the hanger door, Kisheartmon following behind, but staying within the hanger.

"But, why?" Ventra questioned into the com out loud, wondering how this female Aerial Armour pilot would know with such certainty of it.

"Of course she won't," Jena spoke, extending the wings of her stolen Armour outwards. "She won't…because that pilot is me…" Before anyone of the remaining three could react, she blasted into the sky, ready to engage her own comrades in mortal combat.

* * * * * *

Orange light seemed to flood sat the horizon, signalling some form of morning in that part of the world, even if it wasn't true 'light'. Sapphire watched the light, admiring it, somehow, for an unknown beauty. Siato only remained vigilant in his guarding duties, keeping an eye out for any intruders in the distance.

The soft rumble of tumbling rock didn't distract the two, as they knew who was in the cave behind them; their partners, loyal and true, and now well rested too.

"Too bad there is nothing to eat," Agumon groaned, after yawning from his deep slumber. He slept peacefully and deeply for the night, as though he had not a worry in the world.

"We'll find something," Gabumon told his cohort in crime, walking towards his partner. Agumon followed behind, not protesting anymore, focusing now more on escaping patrols or capture groups. "What is the plan?" the Digimon asked his partner, Sapphire glancing back at her Digimon companion.

"Just avoid them, until we can find a way to escape this inferno hell," Sapphire told the pair, sighing and closing her eyes. She shifted her gaze towards Siato, without opening her eyes, she just knew his male counterpart was there. Both were sixteen, exposed to the life of a gladiator, to quench the thirst of blood in that arena. "Are others out there just like me? Fighting for survival?" she thought, sending a shiver up her spine.

"Let's get moving…" Siato spoke softly, hefting his weapons, as did Sapphire. The two Digimon followed, both leaving the rocky confines of the cave they rested in.

The next instant confused all of the four, as Gabumon was hit with enough force to knock him off his feet. He landed on his side, a dart sticking through his fur into his skin, injecting something unknown into the Digimon.

"Gabumon!" Sapphire cried out, dropping her weapons and falling onto her knees beside the fallen Digimon. She quickly pulled out the dart, cradling the Digimon in her arms. Siato, on the other hand, was on alert, raising his weapons defiantly, trying to find the source of the attack. So far, his search, as well as his Digimon partner's, proved to reveal nothing.

* * * * * *

GS lowered his sniper rifle, already disabling one of the Digimon in the midst. Amnemon questioned the motive of his partner, as the mercenary watched the crowd from the distance.

"What are you doing?" the hedgehog Digimon asked, not seeing GS the type to give mercy or some form thereof. GS remained silent, before unloading the clip for his sniper rifle on his Armour. He took the single dart loaded in it, then passed it off to Amnemon. With that done, he opened his Armour, exposing his exoskeleton armour self to the air. He then took the dart from Amnemon's arms, opening a hatch in his 'second armour' and placing it into the dark hole within. The chamber took the same calibre rounds as his sniper rifle, thus why the dart would fit. "You're joking, right? Going up against a Mega?!"

"I don't miss…" GS told his Digimon, repeating what he said previously the WUF officer that gave him this assignment. He sealed the hatch shut, before deciding to approach the four in the distance, with an intent to succeed.

* * * * * *

Jena examined the aerial scenario for the base she was suppose to infiltrate, now defend with her life, as she vowed. The Armour she flew was packed with a few more weapons then her own, but lacked the stealth capability that she was used to.

"Oh well…got to make due…" the Aerial Armour pilot remarked, drawing the assault rifle from the strapped to the Armour's shoulder. She levelled the rifle, preparing to open fire on the UDF Armours.

"What the hell are you doing?" Jena questioned to herself, halting all her actions instantly. She remained hovering in the air, weapon drawn, but her fingered left the trigger alone. "These are you comrades here…those you fought along side with…and here you are, trying to kill them? Why? What is wrong with you?"

"I…I…" Jena fought with her own mind, trying to regain control of her composure as well as her mental state. Chaos erupted in her mind, chaos that prevented her from doing anything until it was resolved, or until irrational behaviour took over for her body.

As such, such behaviour took over, and Jena pulled the trigger to the rifle, completely shattering her mental state with the chaos ensuing in her mind.

* * * * * *

"I…I'm alright…" Gabumon spoke softly, slowly getting to his feet, out of Sapphire's arms. He seemed stable, after getting hit and all by that dart, with some sort of injection. Whatever that injection did, it was unclear until it wanted to become clear.

"None of us will be alright if we don't find out what is going on…" Siato muttered, having a bad feeling about all this already. "Let's hope this won't be the shortest day of our lives…" he added mentally, weary of any sort of attack.

The attack was all too imminent, as a shadow quickly loomed over head of the escape. Siato quickly turned around, raising the side of his axe, blocking the triple pronged claw extended from an exoskeleton armour. The two leaped backwards, facing off, before Siato decided to end this battle quickly.

"Agumon, make swift work of this!" Siato shouted out, taking his ruby coloured Digivice and letting it unleash its full force.

"Agumon…Warp Digivolve to…War Greymon!"

In an instance, the Rookie level Digimon became a Mega level, dashing forward, ready to disable or destroy the exoskeleton armour before them with on strong swipe of his claws…

* * * * * *

The trigger was pressed, but the finger would refuse to let go afterwards. Jena held the rifle firm and true, directing the spray of ammunition into the direction of attacking UDF Aerial Armours. The first three rounds punched into the closest Aerial Armour, breaking the light plating of the armour. The next rounds hit air, as Jena transferred aim from one Armour to another, using the rifle like a machine gun. The second Armour was hit, and then a third was damaged, as the clip was emptied. The two Armour plummeted to the ground, to their death, and if not to their deaths, then to a firing zone of death.

The repeated clicking of the empty chamber was heard, yet, Jena refused to release the trigger button until she finally 'woke up'.

"What's wrong with me?" she gasped, ejecting the clip and letting it fall below. She took another clip from her Armour, and inserted it in. She felt her Armour for more ammunition, finding another clip. On her side was a submachine gun, with two clips attached to it. On her back, she felt a pair of tubes in addition to her wings, trying to figure out their purpose. She decided to try now, commanding the tubes up and over her shoulders, aiming with no such delicacy. At this moment, the Aerial Armours attacking the base realized a flank attach, and sent four of the remaining eight to attack the lone Armour. "Open fire…" she whispered, letting loose with a hail of micro rockets that zoomed forward from the twin barrels on her right shoulder. A full spread was fired, unloading ten rockets. Six hit the point Aerial Armour, the other four hit sky as the three remaining Armours dodged. The unlucky one detonated into a ball of light as its generator blew, leaving nothing but failing shrapnel.

"One down…" the pilot whispered, levelling her rifle to take on the other three, already entering a position to surround her. "And three to go…"

"Three…allies…" she added in her mind, gripping the rifle tightly as they approached their position. Her mind continued to fight itself, trying to find some reason to her actions that would destroy her allies, as well as her own sanity.

* * * * * *

GS leaped backwards, the tri-pronged claws of the Mega level Digimon, before the other claw of that Digimon lashed forward, ready to impale the offender. Seeing the attack, the mercenary fell to the ground, the claw sailing over head, followed by the body of the Digimon.

With the opening clear, GS fired the small gun hidden inside the wrist on his suit. The dart shot out, hitting into the revealed flesh of an arm from the Digimon. War Greymon hissed in pain, falling flat onto the ground where GS used to lay, before the mercenary rolled out of the way. He leaped up, wishing he loaded a tranquilizer in his other gun on the other arm so he could stun one of the Humans he needed to apprehend.

In a flash of energy, War Greymon returned to his Rookie form of Agumon, out on the ground, sprawled out, dart still in his body.

"Agumon!" Siato exclaimed, heading to his partner's side. Gabumon looked up at his partner, Sapphire return a nod. She withdrew her Digivice, ready for the next round of combat against the unknown opponent who seemed responsible for all that has happened thus far.

"Gabumon…Warp Digivolve to…"

Gabumon and Sapphire exchanged surprised glances, unsure what happened, and why the Digimon would not Digivolve to his Mega form. Another futile attempt confused the pair even more on their predicament.

"The dart suppresses Digivolution," the armoured figure known as GS told the Humans, watching them. Sapphire clutched her hand tightly, before taking her long sword and holding it ready for combat. Siato, seeing the situation, followed example, raising his axes to engage the foe. GS accepted the challenge, revealing the tri-pronged claws on each hand of his armour to his foes, ready for combat.

* * * * * *

Jena watched the other three around her, before changing the frequency of her com link into the same frequency as her 'allies'. Being a 'traitor' as herself merited such benefits in combat, though she wondered why she was doing this. The pilot was surprised she even thought of spying on her 'allies' transmissions. She held the rifle tightly, readying for combat, listening for any sort of signal from her opponents.

"Break, rush!" the 'commander' voice of the trio shouted out, and the three Aerial Armour's blasted with boosters, rushing forward to catch Jena in the middle. Seeing the predictable manoeuvre, Jena shoulder the rifle, activating her own boosters, flying straight up. Quickly, she took the pair of sub machineguns from the Armour and opened fire into the converging Armour's below. The rounds were not as powerful as the rifle, but the amount fired easily made up for the lack of damage dealt per hit. The first few rounds of the twin bursts hit air, as it was directed towards the centre of the converging trio. However, when they converged, and blasted upwards to pursue, they were met with a hail of ammunition. The Armour at point suffered the most damage, as the other pair either suffered damage from shots that did not hit the leader or that ricocheted off odd angles from the Armour ahead of them. The pair broke off the pursuit, as the leader plummeted to the ground below, unable to hold its position in the air.

"Four destroyed…" Jena muttered, ejecting the clips of the sub machineguns and letting them fall to the ground below, replacing the clips with fresh ones. "Six more…to go…" she whispered, staggering between words. She watched the two before her, the pair of rocket launchers still extended on her shoulder. The pilot estimated ten rockets left, considering the size of the weapon and remaining weight on it. "For the other four…" she whispered, questioning her mental sanity even more…

Holstering the sub machineguns, she drew the rifle for the Armour, taking aim with the weapon towards the Armours that was friend and foe.

* * * * * *

Siato waited for no word of encouragement, dashing forward and striking with his right hand axe, swinging with a high arc. GS quickly raised his right hand in response, catching the axe blade between two of the three bladed claws. In a quick motion, and using Siato's momentum, he pushed the axe away towards another direction. However, Siato wasn't beaten by such a trick, using _that_ momentum to swing in a crosscut fashion with his other hand. GS raised his left claw as the answer, blocking the blow, before kicking Siato's feet from underneath him and throwing the escapee to the side. With that, GS dashed towards Sapphire, her long sword raised and poised for battle.

Metal clanged together as the blade of Sapphire went between two of GS' claws on his left hand, the right hand claws stopping the blade from advancing as it blocked the weapon near the hilt. Sapphire made the first move, throwing all her weight on the blade towards the left. GS followed, his claws one with the blade temporary. The force sent GS off the blade, but Sapphire didn't stop. She continued to twist around, doing a full 360 degree turn, completing a full crosscut form. GS reacted with a block from his right claw, before thrusting forward with his left. Sapphire barely dodged, but then promptly got a hard slap from an open hand hat belonged to GS in her stomach, knocking her down. GS raised his claw, ready to stab Sapphire once, until the pair of Rookie Digimon leaped upon GS, tangling his arms. The three wrestled, buying time for the other two to recover. Siato recovered first, getting behind the distracted mercenary and about to raise an axe to deliver a strong blow.

"SONIC DISC!"

A single boomerang of emerald energy lashed out, smashing into the back of Siato's hand, forcing him to drop the axe onto the ground, the blade digging into the soil and rock that made the battle ground. In this time, GS threw Gabumon off his arm, towards the direction of Amnemon, now part of the pray, as was all the Digimon. The mercenary was sure his partner could keep these two Digimon occupied, throwing Agumon into Amnemon's direction too, but making sure Agumon collided with Gabumon to give Amnemon some advantage for a brief moment.

At this point, Siato regained his axe, swinging upwards from his position near the ground. Sharp metal skimmed GS' exoskeleton armour as he fell over backwards in an attempt to dodge. The attack left a large 'scar' across his armour, but he had no time to asses damage, as Sapphire was already back up, directing her blade to the down GS. The mercenary raised his pair of claws, blocking the attack by crossing the pair together and acting as a stop. The next second, he rolled over and leaped back to his feet, prepared for more from the pair he was paid to catch.

* * * * * *

The burst of rifle ammo blasted across the sky, three rounds, and three rounds were all that was needed to puncture enough holes into the Aerial Armour to bring it down. And down it went, plummeting below. The last Aerial Armour that engaged Jena 'started with wide eyes', so to say. The pilot obviously didn't want to engage this obviously more experienced Armour alone, and thus quickly made a b-line back towards his ranks, hoping for reinforcements for taking this threat down. Jena could hear the panicking voice of the other pilot through her com, after tapping into the line.

"Bye bye…" she thought, launching another well aimed three round burst at the fleeing Armour, catching two in its midsection, and a third in its head. Like its partner, it tumbled to the ground below. The alert was done, and the four other Armours prepared to engage Jena in combat, keeping their distance however.

"Who the hell are you?!" the 'lead' Armour asked, pointing a finger towards their lone opposition. Jena was silent for a moment, before responding softly, yet audible over the com system.

"Juliet Echo November Alpha…" the 'traitorous' pilot answered, gripping the rifle in her hand tightly. The four words cycled through the head of the leader for a moment, and if these Armour's knew what that meant, it would be deciphered very so-…

"Jena!" the leader exclaimed, growling. "Jena Starheart…command was right…traitorous bitch…" he muttered, surprising the other Aerial Armour pilot quite easily.

"Traitor…?" Jena thought, nearly dropping her rifle. She knew she would become a traitor after this certain event in her military career, but _beforehand_, that was a startle indeed. "Command set me up…?" she questioned next, her hands turning cold. It didn't really matter what she could do to justify this action of hers now, she was branded something she would become before it she even became that. The shock slowly dawned on her, as she regained her composure. "Well...I owe Ventra something…might as well see it through…" she finally spoke aloud, finding her reasoning behind doing all this in the first place. It made it all easier on her consciousness that she was a 'traitor' already.

With that in mind, she took her rifle with the her left hand and raised it, training the rocket pack on her shoulder as well.

"Let all hell break loose…" she thought, opening fire.

* * * * * *

GS landed a blow, breaking into a 360 degree spin with his claws. Both Siato and Sapphire retreated, but not before each of their Kevlar vests were partially torn by the flailing claws. GS halted the attack, landing on two feet, hunched over, one hand on the ground, the other in the air; waiting.

Impatient as he was, Siato lunged forward, axe raised and ready to slash down. The interchange was short, as GS leaped forward from his crouched position. The claw on the ground was now in the air, deflecting the axe blade of Siato away from the exoskeleton armoured figure. In the next moment, the mercenary rammed a balled fist into the stomach of Siato, the boy's eyes wide in surprise.

Siato fell over, knocked out completely by the blow. What was surprising that a blow through Kevlar armour could inflict such force as to throw someone unconscious. What more, was that there was no blood spewing out, in fact, the vest wasn't even damaged aside from the scratch from the previous attack. Upon closer inspection, one could see GS' claw retracted for that hand, only using the momentum of both people to force such an attack out.

Sapphire staggered backwards, unable to believe the turn of event. But that still did not remove her battle spirit, as she raised her long sword once more, ready to engage the mercenary before her.

* * * * * *

Jena fired another full spread of rockets, what was left in the duel shafts of the rocket launcher on her shoulder. They launched and spread out, trying to catch the remaining four Armours in the massive blast that it would create.

Explosions ripped through the air, trailing from one side to the left, surrounding the Armours that attacked the WUF base. In turn, those blasts of firepower became smoke, covering the Armours with its black cover. Jena retreated a bit, prepared for any sudden attacks that may emerge from the smoke.

Intuition served true, as hail of fire blasted from the smoke in random directions. Though she was 'shielded' by the smoke, so were her adversaries, so she had to make random evasions to their random shots. However, even veterans get unlucky in situations, and thus two rounds pierced her Armour and went through her right shoulder, forcing a cry of pain from her.

"Damn armour piercing rounds…" she cursed, clutching the wound while keeping an eye on the black cloud before her. The smoke cleared away, as did the hail of fire. Before her flew three Armours, unlike the previous count of four. Jena took satisfaction in destroying one of her 'mates now enemies. She tried to lift her right arm, but to no avail. Cursing again, she switched to her less dominant hand, flying backwards while opening fire with a spray of bullets. The fact she was firing with only one hand through her aim much off, to a point of easy evasion.

"Crap…" she whispered, diving down, but to no avail, the three Armour's chased after her, easily keeping up with the damaged one. Jena, in a last ditch effort, quickly turned around the face the pursuing Armours, about to open fire.

The rifle was knocked away by the butt of another rifle. She exclaimed in surprise, not expecting her pursuit to have caught up so fast. However, her surprise was short lived, as two of the Armours detained her, locking her arms in a vice-grip-like hold. She struggled, though it proved useless in her weakened state. And with that, the leader lowered his rifle to her head.

* * * * * *

GS grunted, retreating a few steps while watching Sapphire before him. The fact she was using only one weapon in comparison to his pair, it was still difficult to attack as he had to dedicate both his claws to defend himself when Sapphire attacked, since one arm would not be able to stop that blade between it's weight and the amount of force that girl swings it at.

The mercenary retreated a few steps, trying to keep pace with his target. Sapphire was just trying to keep GS busy until she can find an opening to strike with, and hopefully not get struck while doing this plan. Unfortunately for her, inspiration struck her opponent like a lightning bolt.

Sapphire swung once more, hoping the force of her next blow would throw GS off balance. In fact, the mercenary turned it around, deflecting the blow away with his claw, which, in turn, threw Sapphire off balance. She fumbled backwards, opening her up completely for attack. The mercenary took the opportunity, rushing forward and thrusting one his claws forward.

The sword fell to the ground with a resounding clang, Sapphire standing up straight, head tilted a bit back, the two side prongs of GS' claw awfully close to her neck. The middle claw was retracted, leaving her unharmed.

"You lose," the mercenary remarked, keeping his hand positioned right by her neck.

* * * * * *

"GALE CRASH!"

The rifle aimed at Jena's head was thrown off course, firing its round into sky as a short beam of emerald energy impacted against the weapon. The user cursed, getting another beam against his back. A third beam struck one of the surprised Aerial Armour's that held Jena, breaking its grasp. With that, Jena quickly withdrew one her sub machineguns, forgetting all about the pain in her arm and firing a whole clip into the other surprised Armour. The grip was loose, as the Armour tumbled to ground.

"Jena!" Kisheartmon cried out, flying towards the sky to help her partner out. She was preparing for another Gale Crash attack, but the second Armour the Digimon hit before had already recovered, levelling its sub machinegun towards the Digimon.

"Look out!" Jena cried out, about to fire her own sub machinegun into the Armour who threatened her Digimon. However, her movement was now a bit more sluggish, given the pain in her arm. With that, the other UDF Armour attacked, knocking the sub machinegun from her hand. Yelping, she didn't have time to react as she was disarmed of her other sub machinegun, now trained on her.

A hail of bullets sprayed out towards Kisheartmon, punching into the Rookie level Digimon. The avian cried out, unable to maintain any form of flight from that plight. Jena cried out for her Digimon, and thus began a reaction, as Jena's Digivice from inside lit up with power.

"Kisheartmon…Digivolve to…"

A ball of energy surrounded the Digimon, growing larger, then shattering into pieces as quickly as it formed. The previous Kisheartmon was replaced with a much larger bird with crimson wings over the white body, though possibly not much larger then a Human if one would compare. On her forehead was a small heart 'hollowed' out, also crimson. The tri toed pair of talons stretched out, then curled back inwards, watching the opposing Armours.

"Shinuindomon!"

Both Armours stared at amazement at the new Digimon, before realizing they were on the opposing side of this Digimon. With that in mind, they both opened fire at the Champion level, hoping to gun it down before it could attack.

Shinuindomon dived down, before arcing back up to evade the spray. Both Armour's ran out of ammunition in their clip at the same time, and thus ended their existence.

"HEART WIND!"

The crimson heart on her forehead ignited with energy momentarily, before the avian flapped her wings forward, throwing a pair of crimson energy boomerangs the length of each wing. Both chopped the opposing Armour's in half, killing them as their lifeless bodies and suits fell down on top of the WUF base below.

Jena watched with amazement, gripping her wounded shoulder, but awe took over for pain, as she just witnessed her Digimon do exactly what Ventra's Digimon did only minutes ago.

**

**

**Completed:** 01/21/02


	8. Episode 08-Armour Duelling

**

Armour Duelling

**

**

By: Theodore 'Blitz' Leung

**

theoleung@sprint.ca

**Disclaimer:** All Digimon and their characters (except for those introduced in this fic/series) do NOT belong to me. I do not have permission to use their characters, but it's a FanFic, so, who cares? =) This story line belongs to me and me alone. Please ask for permission if you wish to use it. Thanks. Now let's get onto reading!

* * *

GS lead the group of captives to the location of the base were he got the original assignment to find these 'gladiators'. The exoskeleton figure led them in, carrying a still unconscious Siato. Any chance of escape was clearly impossible when they entered the facility. A contingent of soldiers led them off, taking the weight of the male gladiator off GS. He was then directed towards the office of his employee.

"Well done," the officer congratulated, his hands clasped together. On the desk was a duffel bag. The mercenary approached the desk, dropping the two used darts onto the table and taking the bag. He grunted something, then turned his back.

"It was nice doing business with you," the commander told the mercenary. In turn, GS only grunted again, leaving the room and heading back towards his Armour to find another job.

* * * * * *

Jena slowly landed her commandeered Aerial Armour, opening the hatch before it came to a complete landing and leaping out when the Armour finally stopped, turning it off. Ventra halted reloading his Armour, as did Pardramon, they gazed at Jena, and then behind her and the Armour towards Shinuindomon, who now landed outside the hanger. The Armour closed up, and Jena withdrew her Digivice.

"I heard, you destroyed them all," Ventra spoke softly, without malice or anger. Jena nodded slowly, approaching him, as did Ventra approached her. "Even without your Armour…you-"

"They branded me a traitor," Jena interrupted, finding it prudent to speak her mind, her disturbed mind. "Even before I finished destroying my…allies, they branded me a traitor…"

"Wha…?" Ventra asked, destroying any tension that could have possibly been between the pair from Jean's confession.

"They told me…I'm a traitor, in the air, when…" Jena hesitated, wondering if she should tell Ventra everything. She decided in the next moment. "When I came here to spy on you all and avenge the fellow pilots in my squad." She tilted her head down and away, ashamed for admitting the truth. The Aerial Armour pilot felt like she didn't belong anywhere now.

"Do you need to rest? I can give you one of the empty resting chambers in the base," Ventra offered. Jena tilted her head back up, blinking once, then smiling. She nodded slowly.

"Thank you…" she responded softly, barely audible. Ventra only shook his head lightly, heading back towards the base while ordering Pardramon to reload his Armour.

* * * * * *

GS somehow ended up returning to the UDF base where he deposited Nina only so long ago. The mercenary wasn't sure why he returned there, he just knew he was there. Amnemon made no protest, in fact, it occurred to the hedgehog Digimon that it may be 'healthy' for the mercenary to visit Nina. It wasn't the only reason they were there - the base was interested in hiring the mercenary's services again, which was an odd turn for GS. He rarely had the same person hire his skills twice.

The mercenary stepped into the facility, leaving Amnemon to the normal guard duty of the Gaia Armour that belonged to the Mercenary. Once again, he was guided by a soldier to the commander's room, though GS could have guided himself, he was familiar with the base layout to know where to go.

He entered the room, the familiar two guards standing outside. Like before, the room was poorly illuminated, though it didn't bother the mercenary in the exoskeleton. He approached the desk, seeing only the silhouette of the figure on the chair.

"What do you want?" GS asked impatiently, crossing his arms as he waited for the answer. The client regarded the mercenary for a moment, as though analyzing him if he was appropriate for the job or not.

"We need you to hunt down an Armour for us," the client spoke, tossing a photo onto the desk. The mercenary took the photo, seeing a standard Gaia Armour with a SMG, an assault rifle, and possibly a sword on its back, obviously energy tipped, though GS couldn't be sure. "The Armour and its pilot already destroyed a few of our squads, so we are suspecting a veteran, though we calculate it is nothing you can not handle."

"They're flattering me," GS mumbled, tossing the picture back down. "75 thousand," the mercenary told the client, a bold move on his part - he would normally let the client set the price and negotiate from there.

To GS' surprise, the employee agreed, nodding his head. The mercenary saw the job as a simple assassination mission, nothing more and nothing less. He let his greed overcome his common sense, seeing nothing wrong and becoming over confident. He left the room silently, detecting an easy 75 thousand.

The commander smirked, tapping his fingers together. His plan was working just fine.

* * * * * *

Siato slowly awoke, groaning in pain as he clutched his stomach. The trio he shared the cell with quickly glanced towards him, as he winced in pain while slowly sitting up on the hard bed he was lying on before. Agumon was quickly by his side, leaning over.

"Are you alright?" the dinosaur Digimon questioned, staring into the male's eyes. Siato blinked once, then closed his eyes tightly.

"Argh…as soon as this pain in my stomach goes away, yes…" Siato groaned, realizing that mercenary hit him hard right there, even with his armour. He clutched that section tighter. "Where are we…?"

"A WUF base near the border," another voice answered, as the doors hissed open. Sapphire and Gabumon backed away from the door, letting the uniformed man into the cell.

"What do you want?" Sapphire hissed, drawing a bit closer to Siato, as though to protect him. The officer gazed towards the female, then to the wounded male.

"I am here to propose you an offer," he started. Sapphire glanced outside, seeing a pair of armed guards with their weapons trained. She decided it better to listen then to risk a breakout. "We are offering you a position into the WUF ranks as Armour pilots. Your skills are invaluable, and we would prefer to use them instead of waste them."

"And if we refuse?" Siato grunted, still staring at the ceiling. The Digimon remained silent, leaving it up to their partner's to answer.

"We will throw you back into the arena in a battle that you would never be able to win," the officer informed them, calmly, though it was hinted he was enjoying saying that. Siato forced himself to sit up, staring at the officer darkly. In turn, the person chuckled. "I'm only a messenger," he remarked, stepping out, the door sliding shut as soon as he exited. The pair of gladiator's exchanged glances, wondering what choice they had now.

"Without our Mega level, we probably won't be able to escape again," Agumon told the pair, though that answer was clear to the pair already. They sighed softly, knowing the choice that was best for this situation.

* * * * * *

The site was a graveyard for Armour's. Many were destroyed, maimed, decapitated, disembowelled, amputated. Blood poured from the parts, from the pilots who engaged the renegade Armour and died as such. It was clear the Armour pilot didn't just rip through the Armour, but also the pilot as well. GS shivered at the thought - not even he would go so low as to torture the victims as such.

"What…happened?" Amnemon gasped, disgusted by the amount of destroyed Armour's. GS remained silent, scouting in the distance. There the Armour stood, hunched over, hands curled up, though not completely. Whoever the pilot was, GS had the impression of insanity from it. On the ground before the Armour was an assault rifle, most likely empty of ammunition.

"Target acquired," GS spoke to himself, drawing his rifle and aiming it towards the Armour. He could barely see the Armour from that distance, though he saw enough to get one clean shot in. He calculated, and then aimed. His finger inched over the trigger, going to press it…

The Armour quickly reacted, drawing its SMG and firing at GS, blasting into the scope of the rifle as the mercenary exclaimed in surprise, backing away just in time as the bullet whizzed past. A moment later and the bullet would've gone through his Armour lens and into his eye, meaning instant death on his part.

"What the HELL?!" GS yelled out, as the Armour quickly sprinted towards GS. The Gaia Armour drew its energy tipped sword as GS drew his heated baton, his sniper rifle useless. "The pilot SHOT me with a SMG…and HIT my lens…" he muttered, wondering if it was just blind luck or if that was skill. The Armour let out a war cry, its external speakers on. GS winced upon hearing the voice, as though hearing a banshee, though it struck him harder then he thought. The voice lingered in his mind: a female one.

The mercenary barely had time to react, drawing his baton up and blocking the downward slash. He threw the energy tipped sword to the side, before punching the opposing Armour in the face, or would've. His fist was captured by the other Armour's hand, who basically crushed GS' hand with the amount of force.

"ARGH!!!" GS exclaimed, falling to a knee as Amnemon backed up, before narrowing his eyes. The Armour raised its sword, about to impale it through GS' back.

"SONIC DISC!"

The emerald energy discus knocked the sword away as it imbedded into the ground. Amnemon then leaped towards the Armour, curling up into a ball and colliding right into the Armour, who staggered backwards. The Digimon uncurled, approaching his partner.

"I don't need your help," GS muttered to his partner, slowly getting back to his feet. He raised the baton as the Armour stopped its stagger, staring at GS, then the Digimon. There was insanity in those eyes, even if GS couldn't see through the Armour's visor, he could tell - insanity and bloodlust. The Armour may have been shorter then his, but it hurt just as much. With another war cry, the Armour rushed forward, both hands on its sword, pulled back and going to run GS through. The sniper side stepped, then raised his baton to block the blow as the sword can rushing back at him, the Armour swinging in a massive arc towards GS. The mercenary stumbled backwards as the force of the blow knocked him down. The next attack came as a downward slash that GS barely rolled away from, the blade imbedding into the ground. GS leaped to his feet, only to get a hard punch to his face, as he staggered backwards.

The mercenary recovered, only to see the blade approach him in a crosscut. He raised his baton again, only to be knocked down. In addition, his baton was snapped in half, leaving GS defenceless in the occasion. He groaned in pain, his groans becoming louder as the Armour slammed its foot against his chest, pinning the mercenary to the ground.

"GS!" Amnemon shouted, leaping forward and curling back up into a ball to ricochet off the opposing Armour. In turn, as the Armour expected, it turned around and gave the 'ball' a quick backhand slap, knocking the Digimon to the ground. "Ow…" the Digimon hissed, hands curled up tightly."Die…" the Armour muttered through the speaker, obviously female now. GS snapped to attention on hearing the voice, seeing the sword looming overheard, ready to drive a whole through his head.

* * * * * *

Tigramon weakly glanced up, sick and tired from everything. She missed Nina, who was taken to do something a bit back, as she did for the whole of the last few days. She hated being alone, even more so hating not being able to protect Nina, or better said…someone else, but that was besides the point. She curled up into a ball, closing her eyes.

The whole base rocked with an explosive force, bringing her to attention immediately. She leaped off the bed and onto the ground, the door to her chamber blown ajar partially. The Digimon slowly crawled out, glancing around. Alarms and klaxons echoed through the hallways of the UDF base. It didn't take the Digimon long to observe the base was under attack, but by what, she wasn't sure. Soldiers began to mobilize, though they then began to retreat, unarmed and running into something that obviously frightened them off. Tigramon, unable to see her partner in danger, quickly sprinted off, trying to find Nina in the complex series of corridors that made the base. She approached the first fork in the passageway, glancing all around as panicking soldiers were quickly drawing arms. They ignored the small cat in the hallway as she bounded down a path.

"There's one!" one of the soldiers shouted, opening fire at Tigramon. She gasped in surprise, leaping into the next corridor to avoid more gunfire.

"They're out to get me…" Tigramon gasped, slowly down to a trot, hardly able to run anymore, in her sick state. Nevertheless, loyalty drove her own, as she continued her sprint. She ran flat into another soldier, who quickly pointed his weapon down. Tigramon gasped.

"Die!" the soldier shouted, shooting the Digimon. Tigramon leaped back, but the bullet imbedded itself into her leg, causing her to collapse. The soldier grunted, walking towards the fallen Digimon, kicking her in the side. Tigramon cried out, eyes closed tightly. She heard the click of the weapon.

"I'm sorry…Nina…" she whispered, before her whole world went black.

* * * * * *

"Wake up!" GS shouted at the Armour, trying to snap whoever was piloting it. The mercenary had a good idea who was inside now, telling by the voice. The sword stopped inches away from him, as the Armour stared intently into GS' eyes. The weapon slowly elevated, as the pilot inside tried to recall who she was. A cry of pain came through the speakers, before the pilot began to resume her course of impaling GS.

At that moment, GS' Digivice blasted to life, empowering his Digimon partner with energy. The hedgehog Digimon leaped back to his feet, curling up into a ball.

"Amnemon…Digivolve to…"

The ball that made the hedgehog Digimon glowed with energy, as its limbs grew larger and longer. The quills on the Digimon's back grew larger and thicker, resembling fins of sorts. In appearance, it sort of resembled a mass sprouting from one source. The new Digimon roared in defiance.

"Jinmamon!"

With the new level of power, Jinmamon was quickly upon the Armour, throwing the Armour off GS and pinning it against the ground. Another roar of defiance.

"SONIC SHOCK!"

The shockwave of power exploded at point blank against the Armour, getting a cry of pain from the Armour's pilot. This was followed by the beating of Jinmamon's first against the Armour, pounding it inwards in an attempt to crush the pilot inside. More cries of pain erupted from the Armour, followed by sobbing.

"Stop it!" GS ordered, punching his Digimon partner right across the face. The Champion level Digimon fell to the ground, leaving the Armour untouched anymore. He rubbed his cheek lightly.

"What was that for!? She was going to kill you!" Jinmamon shouted at the mercenary, who only cradled the fallen Armour in his arms, gazing at it. The crying was ceased, but so was the aura of insanity that surrounded it as well. GS watched the Armour, who was now shivering, the pilot inside obviously afraid, if not half unconscious. It was then the Armour went limp in his arms, the pilot finally losing consciousness. Silently, GS fiddled with the Armour.

"You don't see it, do you…" GS muttered, finding the switch he was looking for and hoping it worked. Jinmamon watched silently, unable to comprehend his partner's action. The hydraulics and gears inside hissed to life, but did nothing, the parts jammed together.

"Damn…" GS cursed softly, gently placing the Armour down and standing back, opening his own Armour up and stepping up. He took his Digivice and replaced it into his Armour, kneeling down by the female pilot's Armour. The tri-pronged claws of his Exoskeleton emerged, as he delicately cut the Armour open with it. With three neat incisions, he ripped the chest plate open. He continued to cut upwards, breaking through the neck and the arms. He removed those pieces as well, leaving a Human figure with a helmet and the lower half of her torso's Armour on. A quick slash across the Armour's face cut it open.

"And the moment of truth…" GS spoke aloud, more to himself then to his partner. He ripped the mask apart and pulled it away, revealing the face of the pilot. Jinmamon gasped in surprise, staring in disbelief.

Nina lay on the ground, her legs still trapped in the contraption she was piloting. She slept so peacefully, and yet, she was the insane person that nearly killed GS and his partner so long ago.

"Why…?" GS questioned, retracting his pronged claws and stroking the hair of the female lightly. "Why…?"

**

Fin

**

**Completed:** 03/23/02


	9. Episode 09-The Horde

**

The Horde

**

**

By: Theodore 'Blitz' Leung

**

theoleung@sprint.ca

**Disclaimer:** All Digimon and their characters (except for those introduced in this fic/series) do NOT belong to me. I do not have permission to use their characters, but it's a FanFic, so, who cares? =) This story line belongs to me and me alone. Please ask for permission if you wish to use it. Thanks. Now let's get onto reading!

* * *

Siato grunted disappointedly and angrily, not enjoy the new accessory he was given: a black collar that fit tightly around his neck. It was a tracking device as well as an explosive device, standard to keep people in check. They never applied such a device to any of the gladiators though, since their arrogance led them to believe no one would be able to escape. Of course, he and Sapphire changed that rule on their break out. Siato mumbled something inaudible, though his Digimon partner, Agumon, assumed it had something to do with the collar.

"Rather stand a chance now then to not stand a chance at all," the Digimon commented, getting another grunt from Siato. The ex-gladiator didn't enjoy that fact, but his partner was true in those words; better to live now and escape then to never have a shot at it at all. Sighting softly, he headed for the door to his newly acquired chambers, though it felt more like a prison then anything else. That collar was a bar code that itched, to put it lightly.

"I swear, if I get a chance to fight that mercenary again, I'm going to rip him apart…" Siato muttered, recalling the defeat as he forced the door open. Agumon trotted behind him, keeping close to his partner but deciding it best not to interrupt the Human's anger streak. They walked over to the crew quarters next door, Siato trying to calm himself before knocking onto the door. He didn't exactly want to show any malice towards his partner in crime. A moment later, the door opened, causing Siato to stare intently at the figure.

Sapphire stood at the door frame; her long, blue hair damp and wet; a soaked, white towel wrapped around her body. The female giggled at Siato's reaction. The collar around her neck didn't seem to bother her.

"You act as if you haven't seen a scantly clad girl before," she remarked, rather girlishly considering her past environment and history. Siato regained his composure, sort of, trying to express himself.

"A-Aren't you a-acting k-kind of…laid b-back…?" Siato questioned, his words staggering as he continue to stare. Sapphire giggled again, walking back into her room.

"I don't like the situation as much as you probably do, but we might as well make use of the good things provided," she remarked, unconcerned about her lack of clothing. Siato continued to gawk as his gaze followed her. Sapphire glanced at Siato, blinking once, before heading back towards where he stood at the door.

"You really haven't seen a girl, now have you?" she spoke softly, grinning, before closing the door in Siato's face. He blinked again, wondering what Sapphire was on when she decided to just open the door without really much to cover her. Regaining his composure completely now, he stepped away from the door, nervously placing his back towards the opposing wall and leaning against it, crossing his arms. He waited patiently…and anxiously…

* * * * * *

Sapphire giggled softly to herself again, her back leaning against the door, wondering what Siato was doing behind it. Not thinking much of it just yet, she pressed herself off the door, letting her towel slip from around her body as she walked back towards the bed.

"You know, you shouldn't tease Siato like that," Gabumon muffled voice remarked from inside the bathroom. Sapphire giggled again, though it masked something, and she let that slip, being as her partner already knew about the history behind her. She sighed softly, lying down on her bed, her clothes sprawled out beside her on the bed, now partially wet from her soaked hair. The ex-gladiator closed her eyes tightly, reminiscing on those memories from so long ago. She whimpered softly, running a finger down her side, over her thigh…

"I'm so careless…" she thought, remembering why she was so unconcerned about her…body… She ran a circle around her thigh, before placing her hand between her legs, shuddering as she remembered. The pain...the torture…the ecstasy…

Sapphire gasped, sitting straight up, mentally slapping herself for letting her mind wander. She shut out those memories, forcing them back to the dark recesses of her memory. The female withdrew her hand away from her body, breathing rather deeply, her hand now curled into a fist. Slowly, she released the lock of her fist, uncurling it, staring at it.

"It's all in the past, Ishida, don't worry about it…" she whispered, glancing at her clothing. Calming herself, she reached for the articles of clothing, donning it so that she may properly greet Siato outside the door…

* * * * * *

GS sighed softly, standing guard over the unconscious Nina. Jinmamon watched the other side, the pair keeping close watch for any UDF patrols in the area. Whatever was going on, the mercenary suspected foul play from the UDF: someone wanted him dead, or her dead, or perhaps both…

The sniper's Armour stood on the ground, idle and open, waiting at a moment notice for its pilot to leap onto it. GS hoped it wouldn't come to that anytime soon, though he couldn't be so sure about that. Rather safe then sorry was a good thing to keep in mind, especially when dealing with a young girl…

"What's my attachment to her…?" GS thought, glancing back at the female. She looked so innocent; yet, she almost killed them in combat. He wondered about her…there was an aura of something…familiar around her, that he couldn't quite put a finger to…something that kept him watching over her…to protect her…

He shook the feeling out of his mind for a moment, returning his concentration on keeping watch for any patrols. The sniper would have preferred to get away from the open, but he didn't want to risk moving Nina, not until he knew he could move her without hurting her, especially after that last fight.

"Just wish she'd hurry up and wake up…" GS thought, closing his eyes. They were snapped back open when he heard the female groan, signalling her awakening. The mercenary and his partner met gaze, GS signalling for his partner to keep watch, getting a nod in acknowledgement. With that cue, the mercenary knelt down by Nina, taking one of her hands and holding on to it lightly. She moaned again, her eyes flickering open.

"Satsuki…" she whispered, focusing onto the mercenary in the exoskeleton. GS smiled, though it couldn't be seen through his mask. "Satsuki…" she repeated, with more force this time, her mouth curling into a smile. "Satsuki!" Nina cried out, leaping at the mercenary and wrapping her arms around his neck tightly, sobbing.

"W-Wha…?" GS wondered, taken aback by the action. He knew he should've been expecting it, yet…he couldn't have anticipated, not like…

He slowly wrapped his arms around her body, unconsciously, caringly, something unlike him. Nina cried softly, glad to see her Satsuki once more. The mercenary closed his eyes, glad to see her as well.

"Alright…that's enough…" GS whispered, pulling away. Nina held on tightly, but still released her grip a bit to allow her Satsuki more freedom. "Are you hurt…?"

"N-No…" she answered softly, rubbing a tear away from her eye. The young girl gazed deeply into GS' eyes, through the visor, somehow. "I'm okay…I can walk by myself…" Gs nodded, turning his gaze away, about to stand up.

"I'm sorry, Satsuki…" Nina blurted out apologetically, her gaze falling to the ground in sadness. GS returned his attention back towards her.

"For what…?" GS questioned, unsure what she was apologizing for.

"For…trying to kill you…" Nina replied softly, barely audible. GS only stared, recalling the murderous, insane female he fought against earlier in the day, but it wouldn't possibly be her, GS wouldn't believe it was the same girl.

"It wasn't your fault…don't let it bother you…" GS consolidated, hefting Nina up and in cradling her in his arms. The mercenary inadvertently glanced towards the destroyed Armour Nina was piloting, getting Nina to face that…killing machine…as well. She sobbed again, quickly turning away. "You didn't have any control…you couldn't have known…" GS tried to reassure, though he was pretty sure he was failing at it. He was never good at caring for others…

"Satsuki…?" Nina asked, getting GS' attention once more. The mercenary returned his gaze to the female once again, wondering. "Can we leave please…? I don't like it here…" GS nodded, agreeing with her last comment completely. He set the female down, making sure she could stand, before heading back to his Armour.

"Um…GS…we have a problem," Jinmamon spoke as GS suited up. The mercenary directed his gaze towards where his Digimon partner was pointing. He raised the Armour's rifle, trying to zoom in with the scope, but then cursed softly when he realized the scope was destroyed by a rather insane shot from a submachine gun Nina used against him; though he dare not say that out loud. Nevertheless, Nina seemed to have read his mind, sulking. GS kicked himself for thinking that, just using his eyes to scan the area. He could only see a cloud of dust being kicked in the air, though he couldn't see what was doing it, it was wide…very wide…

"What is that…?" GS muttered softly, unable to recognize anything through the dust shield. He had a decent idea what was there though, and Nina somehow confirmed it for him.

"The Horde…"

* * * * * *

Jena slowly led her Armour into the hanger of the WUF base she was now stationed at. The Aerial Armour pilot decided to pick up her Armour hidden nearby so that she may use it later. She was, after all an ex-UDF operative, and now basically a WUF soldier; might as well make full use of everything available.

The Aerial Armour touched down on the pad, right beside Ventra's Terra Armour. Sighing softly, she opened her Armour open, taking the Digivice from the slot and stepping out. Ventra greeted her, waving at the entrance nearby. Jena smiled lightly, heading over towards the true WUF soldier, feeling a bit better since their last battle. She noticed Ventra staring deeply into her Armour, however. The female pilot suspected it had something to do with their first encounter…on not so friendly terms. Jena was about to apologize for that encounter, but was interrupted by Ventra before she could complete even one word.

"Don't worry about it…it's in the past," he told her, forcing a smile. Jena forced a smile back, nodding as well. "Come on, our Digimon are waiting for us in the cafeteria, best not keep them waiting." Jena couldn't argue with that point either, allowing Ventra to lead her through the base, being as she was still pretty new to the location. They made sure that they concealed the UDF insignia on Jena's Armour, nothing some duct can't handle for a temporary solution, they could paint it over later. For now, Jena would continue to assume the role of a mercenary to keep her previous identity hidden.

"Hey, are you alright…?" Ventra asked, breaking Jena's train of thought. She gasped softly, nearly bumping into the now still Ventra. She bowed her head, silently apologizing. Ventra only chuckled a bit. "Don't start apologizing like that, it's very un-mercenary like." Jena only nodded, taking the suggestion to heart. Best to keep the cover secure was what went through her mind.

The pair entered the cafeteria, mostly empty aside from a few soldiers here and there. Most were silent, probably still recovering from the shock over the previous battle. A lot of them were still new to combat after all, takes a bit of time to adapt.

"Come on," Ventra ordered in a whisper, directing himself and his companion towards the table where their Digimon sat, chatting to each other about their respective partner. They went silent upon the appearance of their partners at the table.

"Hey, what seems to be the problem…?" Jena asked, wondering why they just grew oddly silent. Both Digimon exchanged glances, then pointed towards one of the corner tables. The soldier and 'mercenary' turned their gaze towards that table, seeing a pair of soldiers, unfamiliar to both, but distinguishable by the similar collars each had around their neck. Each Human was flanked by a Digimon.

"I haven't seem them around this base before…and they don't seem to be rookies either…" Paramon commented softly, still glancing towards them.

"And those collars are military issue, but not standard gear, more like restraints…" Kisheartmon added, looking away now, thinking. "I believe I've seen a few UDF prisoners strapped into one before…"

"What…you're saying they're UDF escapees?" Jena thought out loud, softly out loud, taking a seat at the table. She took another quick glance at them.

"They can't be…unless they're the reason the UDF attacked in the first place, but I doubt it…" Ventra remarked, wondering about the allegiance to the base. "I haven't seen them around either, so they must've just come in now…which means they came in after the attack…"

"It's odd…it's like they are the prisoners of the WUF instead of the UDF…" Paramon mused, turning his attention back to his companions. "But I haven't seen any prisoner dressed with such a collar before…and it's supposedly a UDF device…so what is WUF doing with it?"

"They stole the technology?" Kisheartmon suggested, trying not to draw attention to their table. "I wouldn't be surprise if WUF did steal the technology…or it might even be only a replica…an imitation of the real thing…" Their conversation was interrupted by a short coughing from the end of the table. They turned their gaze towards that side, seeing one of the soldiers with a collar on, the soldier being the female one with blue hair. She had a small smile on her face.

"I'm sorry…I know this is rude…but can we sit with you…?" she asked, motioning towards all her other companions who were only staring as well. Jena and Ventra exchanged stares, slightly embarrassed with the gossip of the person standing over the table and her group.

"S-Sure…" Jena replied, trying to sound calm, though half failing at that. The other female; however, only smiled, beckoning for her group over while pulling up a chair.

"My name is Sapphire, Sapphire Ishida," she introduced, sounding as friendly as possible.

* * * * * *

Ventra whistled in awe, 'watching' Jena fly circles in the sky, though the stealth on her Aerial Armour as on. The pair were far from the WUF base, testing and refitting Jena's Armour to make it more efficient, though it bothered Ventra in bothering.

The group decided to break off from the newly acquainted soldier friends: Sapphire, Siato, and co.. The truth was revealed to them about their gladiator past and their current situation. Jena and Ventra felt sympathy for them, but there was little they could do in their case. They could only wish the best of luck and left for this area.

"I don't see why you wanted to come out here, your Armour is just fine," Ventra commented through the link, watching Jena's Armour on radar in the form of a bleep, a tracking device placed on the exterior of her Armour.

"I don't think I've ever seen an Aerial Armour in such a condition before…" Paramon commented, reading the schematics of the Armour on a small handheld computer. Kisheartmon was by his side, watching the Digimon at work.

"It's heavily modified…" Kisheartmon commented, glancing up at the sky to look for Jena. "But the efficiency isn't as high as we wanted, about 70%..."

"Ventra's Terra Armour is only about 72-73%, but that's taking into account it's a bigger Armour, more room for accessories," Paramon replied, whistling. "The best Aerial Armour I've seen is around 45%...this…this Armour blows it out of the sky…"

"That, and take into account Jena is an amazing pilot," Ventra spoke, continuing to watch Jena fly around while inside the confines of his own Terra Armour. "Actually…even if I'm angry with that battle…she's the better of us, I can't manoeuvre my Terra Armour anything like how she does for that Aerial Armour."

"That's because she fights with low armour configuration," Kisheartmon informed the Terra Armour pilot. "She's accustomed to the 'they can't win if I don't get hit' mentality, hence the lack of armour plating on the Aerial Armour."

"Yeah, the armour rating is less then your standard Aerial Armour, not like its saying much, but it is lower…" Paramon remarked, skipping through a bit of the specs. "I guess that's where the room for the extra gadgets come from, though one good hit and she's down…"

"Stealth and Flash Bombs can easily keep her from getting knocked around," Ventra countered, still watching in awe. "I'm actually wondering why she uses so many slug weapons…couldn't she add a bit more secondary functions if she just drops those submachine guns and just pack more ammo for her rifle?"

"There's actually a secondary weapon we wanted to pack onto the Armour, but that secondary weapon isn't light enough to accommodate the Armour, even with the lack of submachine guns…" Kisheartmon spoke, the answer satisfying both Paramon and Ventra.

Jena deactivated her stealth, gracefully landing right in front of Ventra, bowing her head. Ventra could imagine the smirk on her face. Whatever anger and prejudice the pair had before seemed to have just dematerialized after a certain encounter between them.

"Thanks for the optimism, but Kisheartmon was the one who thought of the efficiency factor; she's my personal engineer," Jena added through the communication network, giggling a little. "Though I have to admit, your Armour is just as well build and customized, you're the first Armour pilot to give me such trouble in combat," she remarked without malice, putting aside that anger from their very first meeting on unfriendly terms.

"Well, you can account most of that on Paramon, he's my personal engineer," Ventra answered, using Jena's own words for his own. The pair of Digimon snickered, enjoying the compliments, even if they are coming in a strange sort of way. However, that laughing was cut short when the handheld computer as well as the sensors for both Armour's went off.

"Um…that's not good…" Paramon commented, slightly sarcastically. He quickly tossed the small computer to Kisheartmon before donning the binoculars and taking a quick peek towards the direction of the alarm. He dropped the item instantly upon identifying the source.

"It's the Horde…"

**

Fin

**

**Completed:** 06/05/02


End file.
